March 22, 2019

Silent disco parties? They’re a thing, and a Sioux Falls DJ has started a business to provide them.

Casey Franken bought equipment last year to create Silent Knight Events, and he’s throwing his third party Saturday night at Icon Lounge.

“The way it works is patrons show up at the event, and we rent out headphones to them. It lets them listen to different styles of music all night. The headphones light up different colors, and the three DJs also light up their booths so that they match up to the headphones,” Franken said. “The nice part is it provides a diverse, broad amount of music instead of one type.”

Saturday’s party, for example, will feature three decades of music — the 1980s, ’90s and ’00s. Friends who have different music tastes can dance together, Franken said, and they can switch among the different channels. Because of that, the night can lead to good-natured rivalry among the DJs.

With the lights on the headphones, “we can tell who has the most people listening to them at one time … so there’s competition of ‘I want to have the most people dance to mine.’ ”

While Franken is a 2007 graduate of Harrisburg High School, he’ll be playing the songs from the ’90s on Saturday night.

Franken has a full-time white-collar job, but he has been moonlighting as a DJ for almost nine years. He describes Silent Knight Events as a passion project, but he sees potential for growth. He’s ready to start booking private parties and envisions bringing in DJs from bigger cities for public events.

His club dates for the year have been secured by Icon. After Saturday night’s event, the next party is May 11, and the rest of the dates will be determined based on both business’ schedules, Franken said.

Saturday’s party goes from 9 p.m. to closing time. Tickets will be available at the door, and they’re $10 for those 21 and older, and $15 for age 18-20.