Please Note: The 2027 Mp3 Experiment will take place on Sunday, June 20 at 2 PM in New York City. RSVP on Partiful. 

For our latest mission, thousands of people followed secret, synchronized instructions delivered via headphones at Hudson River Park’s Piers 46, 45, and surrounding areas. Participants arrive not knowing what the instructions are going to be, and the results are as surprising to them as they are to the random people who witness it.

This was all part of our 21st annual Mp3 Experiment event, held every summer in New York City and toured around the world.

We support this free event by touring it to schools, festivals, and conferences. If you want to hire us to stage one for your organization, see here for more details and how to get in touch.

The Mp3 Experiment is created each year by Charlie Todd and Tyler Walker. All music is by Tyler Walker.

A huge thanks to the amazing community of people that continue to come out to be a part of this event every year. We’re so proud of what a diverse, joyful celebration the Mp3 Experiment has become. As silly as the project is, it’s life-affirming to be in a crowd of strangers, all smiling, laughing, and working together.

If you’re new, be sure to join our email list to be the first to hear details for next year’s event. We also have an NYC Mp3 Experiment Facebook group you can join, and you can follow us on Instagram. (We’ve got video clips from this project on our Instagram!)

The Mp3 Experiment 21 was presented in partnership with Hudson River Park and Make Music New York.

This year’s event began in the grassy lawns in the upland areas of Hudson River Park by the West Village. Participants spread out onto a series of lawns and blended in. Everyone was told to wear bright colors. At exactly 1 PM the audio track began playing in everyone’s headphones, powered by our smartphone app.

Participants were told to do “fake yoga” on the lawn. “If you know any actual yoga poses, don’t do those. Do fake ones.”

Skipping through the park.

The couple in lawn chairs tries to figure out why everyone else suddenly dropped to the ground and began taking a nap.

Participants formed long lines and offered high fives to joggers (and walkers).

Participants were challenged to cross the busy walkway while hopping, as if they were playing a real life version of the game Frogger.

More cheering joggers.

After arriving at Pier 46, participants were told to “hide.”

Our group surrounded a large artificial turn lawn. The random people on the lawn were quite confused.

Participants bribed the random strangers to leave the lawn. Everyone had been instructed to bring a dollar bill with them. Participants took out the dollars and asked the strangers to leave, explaining that we had the lawn booked.

Some people got quite a few dollars! Watch a video of this moment on our Instagram.

Participants running out on the field in a mad scramble, switching sides.

The scramble filmed from a drone above.

Another naptime.

Some square dancing.

A massive game of dance captain, where the crowd copies the dance move of one person.

The crowd left Pier 46 and walked to Pier 45.

In what has become a new favorite tradition, participants brought spray bottles and created a mist storm on the pier.

Using umbrellas as shields, participants engaged in a massive spray bottle battle.

For a finale, our friends at the Tideland Institute showed up with their tugboat on the Hudson River to surprise participants. This was a collaboration with N.D. Austin and Stefan Zenuik and their Waterway Horns project (also part of Make Music New York!). Musicians performed on the boat as well as on the pier. It was a massive surprise party and the energy was infectious.

Finally it was time from the boat to sail away and to say goodbye to narrator Steve. It was another super fun year, and we can’t wait until the next one!

Mission Accomplished

OTHER RESOURCES:

To find out about future Improv Everywhere projects be sure to sign up for our Mailing List (select NYC events if you want to hear about participation opportunities in NYC).

HIRE US
We regularly tour The Mp3 Experiment around the world to places like Berlin, Germany and Adelaide, Australia and to college campuses in the US like UNC and Texas Tech. If you’re part of an organization (festival, conference, university student activities board, arts group) that is interested in commissioning an Mp3 Experiment, get in touch via our contact form. Here’s some more info on our touring version.

The Mp3 Experiment 21 was made possible in part with funds from Creative Engagement a regrant program supported by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) in partnership with the City Council and by the Howard Gilman Foundation and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC).