How silent disco offers a safer, chiller alternative at ACL
It’s 7:50 p.m. at the Tito’s Tent at Austin City Limits Music Festival and a line almost a quarter-mile long creeps through Zilker Park.
Walking up to the gate, there’s expected to be a raging party with blaring music — yet it’s hundreds of party-goers dancing with headphones on, in silence. Silent Disco, a secret headliner of ACL for many years, attracts those who simply want to jam out in their own fashion.
“It’s more of a chill way to finish the night off rather than being in a mosh pit at some big headliner,” UT-Austin student Zoe McGettrick said. “(Silent Disco) gets you settled for the rest of the evening rather than being all sweaty and crammed up against some sort of barricade with other people.”
Quiet Events is the company responsible for not only Silent Disco at ACL but many other popular festivals, like Chicago’s Lollapalooza.
Will Petz, CEO and founder of Quiet Events, said the company also offers silent disco private parties and headphone equipment.
Three DJs compete against one another as they pump different tracks through the wires including 80s hits, pop and EDM. Attendees can switch between the three colored channels, sometimes changing them to connect with those around.
“The vibe is more social,” Petz said. “It’s so crazy to think that social is the vibe, since it’s all headphones and everyone thinks it’s antisocial … completely the opposite.”
And while the audience is having a great time, so are the DJs, according to Kyle Johnson, otherwise known as GNGR the DJ.
“It’s kind of like a competition between the three of us who can get the most people on their channel,” Johnson said.
But the event isn’t just colorful headphones — it’s also a safer way to enjoy a festival.
According to a 2017 research article presented at an auditory forum, participants at a silent disco generally prefer listening levels “noticeably lower than what is typically offered at dance venues.”
“The higher we go in terms of sound level, the less time we can spend safely at that sound level,” said Dr. Spencer Smith, a UT-Austin assistant professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, listening to 90 decibels, or dB, for up to eight hours is safe. With every 5dB increase, the chances of safe listening are cut in half. Silent Disco is typically played at around 90dB, and with the event only being two hours, participants can leave with their ears undamaged.
“Most of the time, even though the volume might be a little bit higher than what we would like, the event is not long enough to cause hearing loss or permanent damage,” Smith said.
On the other hand, Smith said festivals using public address systems — or PA systems — last over eight hours per day with an average dB of 105. According to OSHA regulations, only an hour at that level is safe.
“There are two (advantages of a silent disco),” Smith said. “One is that listeners tend to turn the volume down a little bit more, and it’s more comfortable and safer for them. And two, when you put music into headphones, you don’t have to worry about all of the community and environmental effects of noise.”
And since her eighth-grade year, McGettrick can’t help but keep going back.
“It’s been like four or five years of me going, and I go every single time I go to ACL,” McGettrick said.