Boombox, Bluetooth speaker caroling coming to Cooper-Young

By , Daily Memphian Updated: December 14, 2022 7:01 PM CT | Published: December 14, 2022 6:05 PM CT

Cooper-Young residents will go caroling Saturday, Dec. 17.

Instead of singing, however, they will use boomboxes, Bluetooth speakers and their phones.

Memphis will be one of 40 cities around the world participating in Phil Kline’s “Unsilent Night.”


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At 6 p.m., residents will gather for the “soundwalk” on the corner of Cooper Street and Young Avenue and proceed to Memphis Made Brewing Co., 786 Cooper St.

Participants will act as an orchestra, playing Kline’s 45-minute four-track composition.

The Akron, Ohio native composed “Unsilent Night” in 1992 with the idea of a holiday caroling party.

Kline invited a few dozen friends to gather in Greenwich Village, New York, gave each person a boombox with one of four tapes in it and asked everyone to hit play at the same time.

Together all four tracks comprise “Unsilent Night.”


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“In effect, we became a city-block-long stereo system,” Kline said. 

The event went on to become an annual tradition in 146 cities and five continents, drawing thousands of participants in some cities. 

Jenny Davis, director of Blueshift Ensemble, brought the first Memphis “Unsilent Night” event to Crosstown Concourse in 2021. 

Blueshift is a Memphis-based contemporary chamber music ensemble dedicated to bringing artists and audiences together through artistic collaboration.

Davis had initially heard about Knoxville-based contemporary music organization Nief-Norf holding its “Unsilent Night” event each year. 


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“I thought, ‘We have to bring this to Memphis,’” Davis said. 

Davis partnered with the Cooper-Young Community Organization for this year’s “Unsilent Night” event.

“Crosstown was a great place to do it just because it’s a place where people can come together and see the different artwork in the building,” Davis added. “I thought this year would be fun to do it through a neighborhood and Cooper-Young was the first place that came to mind.”

Davis said she plans to make the event an annual tradition. 

“Who knows, I may do it in other places around the city in the future,” she said.

Topics

Phil Kline Unsilent Night Cooper-Young Community Association Memphis Made Brewing Co. Jenny Davis Crosstown Concourse
Jasmine McCraven

Jasmine McCraven

Jasmine McCraven considers herself to be a music enthusiast and believes that she makes the best playlists ever. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State, but couldn’t wait to move back home to Memphis for the best food and culture in Tennessee.


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