By Leah Stratton

Silent Disco has moved from national music festivals to Athens bars.

Silent Disco is a rave-style party that allows attendees to experience pristine sound quality through a headphone system.

The Silent Disco trend started at music festivals like Bonnaroo, Coachella and The Governors Ball, but has now migrated to the Highwire Lounge in downtown Athens.

“It is a whole new world at Bonnaroo,” said Alison Kleinjan who has been to Silent Disco both at Bonnaroo and in Athens. “The playlist was full of throwbacks and fan favorite remixes created by well-known DJs or guest DJs.”

There is no music that plays out into the crowd; it is exclusively broadcast through the participants’ headphones. Though the venue may be entirely quiet, people have a party blasting through their headphones.

Participants have the option to tune into different stations and music so people across the room can be dancing to entirely different beats. Silent Disco offers a unique listening experience where users can opt to tune into different DJs and take part in a DJ battle for the best mixes. 

In Athens, Silent Disco at Highwire Lounge usually plays a variety of music controlled by a DJ. The music plays on three channels: two of these featuring vastly different genres and the third channel for requested songs.

“When I went, one channel was playing the soundtrack from Disney’s “Mulan” and the other channel had a Michael Jackson song,” said Katherine Roddy, who has attended Silent Disco in Athens.

“It’s really interesting because you take your headphones off and it’s dead silent, but everyone is dancing. Everyone in should go at least once. It is tons of fun and a cool way to get a music festival feel right here in Athens,” Roddy said.

“In Athens it is less established, but it is still a really fun time. Not everyone was familiar with Silent Disco or with the music festival scene so they are less enthusiastic but the feeling is the same. It’s a great time.”

Highwire Lounge hosts a Silent Disco event every Thursday and every Saturday at 11 p.m. for only $1.