DJ says silent disco headphones create ‘something magical’ for all ages
By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
If you’ve never experienced a silent disco, then Saturday, March 7 might be the night. On the back half of an overwhelmingly dry and mild season, a family-friendly event aims to “appease the powder gods, shake off cabin fever and move together,” according to the Snow Dance Silent Disco webpage.
The free, retro-ski-themed outdoor gathering begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Center Plaza beside The Wilson Hotel, and will feature at least two “dueling DJs” from Bozeman, each in control of a different headset channel. The spectacle will include professional fire dancers from Bozeman-based Dark Art Collective and a free salty-hot-chocolate bar from Bozeman-based sports drink brand LMNT. Registration is recommended, and organizers encourage BYOB as food and drinks will not be sold. The dance will wrap around 10 or 11 p.m., depending on stoke.
The event is organized by “The Merchant,” a Bozeman-based DJ named Dan Kern who has carved a niche in silent disco over his seven years spinning. He’s hosted three similar silent disco events in Big Sky in recent years, and for 2026, he’ll be joined by Bozeman artist Dirtbag Disco and possibly a third DJ.
He envisions the plaza packed with lovers of winter, hopefully with flurries triggered by the snow-seeking ritual. He believes that a snow dance tradition should be a no-brainer for a community investing so deeply in winter lifestyle infrastructure, while depending so much on natural snowfall.
“I’m a big believer [in] the community hype and ritual around coming together and celebrating the season, and working for the powder and getting to feel the real reward when it comes,” Kern told EBS. “… Every thriving community throughout time has had dance, and coming together around the fire to dance, at the center of its culture.”
Kern and fellow performers worked with Big Sky Town Center to schedule the event, and shared gratitude for Town Center being open to the idea and working out the details to make the event possible.
“Events like this embody the spirit of connection we aim to foster and if a few great dance moves help encourage a little fresh snowfall, we’re fully in support,” Krista Traxler, Lone Mountain Land Company’s senior VP of marketing and strategy, stated via email to EBS—Town Center is operated by LMLC. “Town Center is proud to be the hub where our community can gather, make memories, and maybe even inspire a little winter magic.”
Silent disco details
Kern explained how silent disco works: participants wear headphones streaming multiple channels indicated by LED colors. On the red channel, for example, listeners might hear classic rock and older sing-alongs, but they can flip to the green channel and hear another DJ playing “ravey house music,” Kern said. Music will be “incredibly inclusive” featuring a variety of electronic dance music, classics, pop and sing-alongs, spanning genres across the decades.
There will be 100 headsets to go around, and walk-ins are welcome to join.
Kern believes that just about everybody loves silent disco, especially two groups: kids and doubters of the unconventional art.
“There’s just something magical that happens when you put on the headphones,” he said. “It helps people get out of their heads, or out of typical social niceties of mingling and chatting. It’s like, you put the headphones on, you feel the bass, and you’re enough in your own little world that before you know it, people are singing at the top of their lungs… it just drops that inhibition.”
Kern said it’s been a trying winter, and as of mid-February, the community is still “desperate” for the snow. A superstitious snow dancer himself, he truly believes in the power of the ritual and has heard positive feedback in past years.
“I think the snow gods are ready to see us all come together and really earn it as a community… we need this.”
