Hosting & planning
We let the guests pick the playlist, and nobody fought about it
By the Afters team · Updated · 3 min read
At every party I have ever thrown, there is a moment when someone takes over the speaker, and a quieter, more dangerous moment when someone else takes it back. Last summer it nearly ended a friendship over a remix.
For our garden party I wanted the music to be everyone’s, without it being everyone’s phone.
A list anyone could add to
A week before, I pinned a requests list on the party page: “Songs you need to hear on Saturday”. Everyone could add a few songs, and everyone could upvote the ones they wanted. The most wanted rose to the top on their own.
Within a day it had turned into its own party. People defended their picks in the chat. My dad, who had joined via a link I sent him, added a song from 1978 and got four upvotes, which he has not stopped mentioning.
Seeing who voted made it social
Tapping a request shows who upvoted it, as little avatar pills. That became a game: guessing who had voted for the most embarrassing song, then checking. It was the best ice-breaker I have ever accidentally organised. People who had never met argued happily about music before they even arrived.
I made the playlist from the top of the list on Friday night in about ten minutes. Nobody touched the speaker on Saturday, because nobody needed to.
The night sounded like everyone
The roll opened at six and the garden filled up. Every time a requested song came on, someone shouted that it was theirs. The shared camera caught my dad’s song in a photo of him dancing with my friends, which I will be using as evidence for years.
Questions people ask
How does a requests list work?
The host pins it; everyone in the crew can add a few ideas and upvote others. Requests sort by votes, and tapping one shows who upvoted it.
Can I limit how many songs each guest adds?
Yes. When you create a requests list you choose how many requests each person can add.
Can I use it for things other than music?
Yes. Drinks requests, games to play or questions for a quiz all work the same way.
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