Phil Kline and friends will fill the streets of New York City with unique Christmas sounds on Saturday night (photo by Tom Jarmusch)
Washington Square Park to Tompkins Square Park
Saturday, December 18, free, 7:00
www.unsilentnight.com
Since 1992, composer Phil Kline has been leading Unsilent Night, a parade of holiday celebrants carrying boomboxes playing specially designed music for the occasion. The nineteenth edition will take place this Saturday, as participants are encouraged to bring their own devices to play one of four randomly chosen mp3s that can be downloaded from the above website. Kline will be on hand to give out a handful of boomboxes, since he prefers people use cassettes or CDs because of the different kind of sound they emit, but iPods and the like are welcome to contribute to the cacophony. The event now occurs around the country as well as in Australia, Canada, and England. Born in Akron, Kline has played in experimental bands, composed music for the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Ethel, choreographer Wally Cardona, and photographer Nan Goldin, among many others, and is currently co-curating a free special program for the New York Festival of Song scheduled for May 3 at the Baryshnikov Arts Center.