Cincy Silent Disco is For the People

O n the last Saturday of each month, head to the Madison Theater in Covington to get your own pair of light-up headphones, tune into one of three DJ stations, and dance the night away on your own terms.

Dayton-based DJs KimL, Sexbox, and John Chapel, along with Level Up Productions , have brought their wildly successful silent disco to the Queen City.

Beginning as a smaller project for the DJs nearly 8 years ago, the Dayton Silent Disco has since grown into a beloved event with quite a following. When the three DJs approached Johnson in 2021 wanting to restart what they had to stop during the pandemic, he knew they had created something special. Now the Dayton events see over 1,000 attendees every month.

KimL, Sexbox, and John Chapel have always been connected to the Cincinnati-Covington music scene via the Basspushers , a local DJ collective, so bringing their project here was a must.

“There’s always been a strong community for stuff like this in Cincinnati,” says Brian Johnson, owner of Level Up Productions. Once the group got in contact with the Madison Theater, they knew that they had found the perfect venue.

“Madison Theater was so excited to work on this project,” Johnson says. “We reached out to them and they jumped right on board. They have three rooms, a rooftop patio, a side stage…it’s an amazing venue. They’ve done so much for Covington, we really want to encourage people to cross the river and check it out.”

The first Cincy Silent Disco event was in April of this year, and now they see between 400 and 500 attendees monthly, Johnson says. With the growth rates they’ve seen in Dayton, Johnson expects to one day host upwards of 2,000 partygoers.

As for the success of the event, Johnson says there are countless reasons. From sensory needs to social enjoyment, the silent disco setup is appealing to many.

“If you go to a club and you don’t like DJ, that’s it. But here, you have a choice,” Johnson says. “If you’re out there with your friends, you can see what channel they’re listening to. It’s choosing your own adventure.”

“When you have the headphones on, you’re in your own world,” says Johnson. “You choose how you want to interact with other people. You can take off your headphones and talk to your friends and there isn’t this loud overwhelming sound around you. A lot of people can’t handle a lot of noise or crowds, so sensory and accessibility aspects are important here. It really is a multifaceted appeal.”

Whether you want to boogie to some oldies with Sexbox on the blue station, get down to EDM with KimL on the green station, jam out to modern hits with John Chapel on the red station, or switch it up all night long, Cincy Silent Disco has what you need.

Cincy Silent Disco is hosted on the last Saturday of every month at the Madison Theater in Covington. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at cincysilentdisco.com .

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