Unsilent Night

What is this?
It’s sort of hard to describe! It’s a walking street parade with music, holiday caroling with boomboxes playing ambient music, a traveling public sound sculpture, a joyful and weird holiday tradition.

Wait, what?
Unsilent Night is an original musical composition by Phil Kline, written specifically to be heard outdoors in the month of December. It takes the form of a street promenade in which the audience becomes the performer. Each participant brings a bluetooth speaker or boombox, downloads one of four tracks of music, and we all press “play” at the same moment. The fact that the participants play different parts simultaneously helps create the special sound of the piece. We then walk a carefully chosen route through town, creating a unique mobile sound sculpture which is different from every listener’s perspective. Learn more: https://www.unsilentnight.com/home

How do I participate?
Meet at the Town Common in Greenfield at 6pm on Saturday December 5th 2026 (rain/inclement weather date December 6th). Bring something to amplify music, like a bluetooth speaker connected to your phone or MP3 player, or a portable boombox. (You can use your phone’s built-in speaker in a pinch, but we highly recommend you bring something that is capable of a bit more volume!) You’ll need to download the app or one of the four tracks (pick one at random!) before 6pm.

https://www.unsilentnight.com/participate

Anything else I should know?
This free event is family-friendly and open to everyone! That said, it does involve slow walking for about 40 minutes, covering about a mile in distance, so make sure everyone in your party is up for that. The route has no stairs and is mostly flat, with ADA accessible sidewalks and street crossings. Wheelchairs and other mobility scooters are welcome, but please no bicycles, skateboards, or other fast-moving wheels! You can bring leashed dogs as long as they are comfortable in a crowd. Holiday attire is encouraged but not required!

What’s the history?
Unsilent Night started in winter 1992, when Phil Kline had an idea for a public artwork in the form of a holiday caroling party. He composed a multi-track electronic piece that was 45 minutes long (the length of one side of a cassette tape), invited a few dozen friends who gathered in Greenwich Village, gave each person a boombox with one of four tapes in it, and instructed everyone to hit PLAY at the same time. The crowd walked a predetermined route through the city. Phil says: “In effect, we became a city-block-long stereo system.”

The piece was so popular that it became an annual tradition, and then an international phenomenon, spreading across the USA and to other countries worldwide. Since 1992, it has been presented in 146 cities and five continents, drawing thousands of participants in cities like New York and San Francisco.

About his inspiration in starting Unsilent Night, Phil says: “It was a combination of my love for experimental electronic music and memories of Christmas caroling as a kid in Ohio.”