The University of Oregon Student Activities Board doesn’t shy away from hosting spectacular events free for UO students, and on Feb. 19, the SAB Sound Lounge is hosting a Silent Disco.
The SAB Sound Lounge is an umbrella term for all of SAB’s music-focused events. Typically, Sound Lounge events consist of open mics, but this time SAB is branching out to a live DJ silent disco event.
A silent disco is a live music event where participants are given headphones all playing the same music, but when observed from outside, it is silent. Silent discos are a fun and somewhat secretive event perfect for dancing with your friends — and dancing is strongly encouraged.
“I’m excited to work this event because I think that being able to express yourself and dance is really important, and to be able to interact with a DJ and to interact with Student Activities Board is important to fostering an inclusive environment at UO,” Rosemary Costa, lead event assistant at SAB, said.
This is the first silent disco SAB has hosted since 2024, but this time around there are some fun twists to make it stand out from past discos. This event has a special theme: it was never a phase. SAB is encouraging participants to dress like their favorite genre.
“We thought it was time to bring it back because it’s important that we expand on our events to maybe reach a different demographic,” Costa said.
This disco will have three channels that you can bounce between to get different kinds of music flowing through your headphones, so the music will cater to all participants.
“Silent disco is a little different this time around. We’re trying to theme it around specific genres, so that should be fun,” Jade Andrews, assistant program director, said. “We’re thinking like goth, punk, alternative, emo, all those kind of subgenres. So I think that will be a fun way to differentiate this from other experiences.”
SAB has roughly 200 headphones to hand out for this event, however, if you arrive and there are no headphones available, there will be a line to wait for headphones to become available from leaving participants. This event will operate on a wristband system, so if you feel as though you need to take a break or step out, you can get back into the event.
The event will take place in the Redwood Auditorium, located on the third floor of the EMU, from 8 to 11 p.m. Free snacks will be provided as well as a photo booth with free physical copies. This event is exclusive to students with a valid UO ID. There will also be a limited bag check and no outside food or drink allowed in the auditorium.
“The uniqueness and variety of the music will be really fun, but also just getting to dress up and dance and experience such a weird event,” Andrews said. “Taking off your headphones in the middle of it and just hearing the stomping and giggling can be really fun. It is something that you don’t get to see anywhere else.”
