The Setup – A Nightclub for One Night Only
The Wairarapa Events Centre underwent an incredible transformation for the evening. With a full-scale lighting rig, haze effects, five rotating glitterballs, and a powerful sound system that filled every corner of the space, the venue felt nothing like our typical auditorium. Instead, it became a pulsing, glowing, high-energy nightclub for one special night—complete with visuals and atmosphere to match the throwback beats. People walked in wide-eyed and left smiling, sweaty, and already asking when the next one would be.
So, How Did It Go?
The Mixtape 90s party started as a spontaneous collaboration between the Events Centre team and DJ Dan—dreamt up to fill a gap in the schedule. “Let’s give it a go… what’s to lose?” turned out to be a winning gamble. In reality, the response was phenomenal. Over 100 tickets were sold, the dancefloor was packed from start to finish, and the energy in the room was electric. With an age range spanning from early 20s to late 50s, the crowd included ex-ravers, party parents, casual dancers, and enthusiastic first-timers—proving that the 90s still have mass cross-generational appeal.
What Was the Musical Vibe?
DJ Dan took dancers on a genre-hopping journey through the iconic sounds of the 90s. The setlist was a carefully curated rollercoaster of familiar anthems and forgotten gems, designed to spark joy, singalongs, and plenty of movement.
Expect the unexpected: from the dub grooves of Beats International’s Dub Be Good To Me, to the grungy roar of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, right through to pop royalty with Britney Spears’ …Baby One More Time. Hip-hop classics like Cypress Hill’s Insane in the Brain sat comfortably alongside RnB favourites like Blackstreet’s No Diggity and indie rock hits like Blur’s Girls & Boys – pieced together with a nod to 2ManyDj’s play/loop/drop methodology.
Of course, no 90s party would be complete without some classic house and electronic energy—tracks like Robert Miles’ Children, The Prodigy’s Firestarter, and Artful Dodger’s Re-Rewind brought that unmistakable dancefloor buzz. Bon Jovi even made an appearance for the rock lovers, with You Give Love a Bad Name sending the crowd into singalong overdrive.
What’s Next for the Mixtape Series?
Given the success of this first event, the big question is: when’s the next one? The team is already buzzing with ideas. We’re exploring different eras and themes—could it be a Y2K Night, a Club Classics Rave, or maybe even an 80s vs 90s Showdown? Maybe DJ Battle between two “rival” DJs? And there doesn’t have to be a theme as such, we can explore a genre – or maybe we can just take you on a journey of discovery…
We’d love to hear what would get you back on the dancefloor. Keep an eye on our socials for upcoming announcements.
One thing’s for sure—the Mixtape party proved that the Wairarapa is more than ready for a proper dancefloor revival. Whether you were there reliving your youth or discovering it for the first time, thank you for making it such a night to remember.
The 90s Mixtape Playlist
The full playlist is available below—packed with bangers, floor-fillers, guilty pleasures, and pure nostalgia. Which ones were your favourites? What would you have added to the mix? Let us know, and we might just include them next time.
[Insert playlist link or embed here]
| Track Title | Artist | ||
| 1 | De-NRGizer | The NRG | |
| 2 | At the River (GA25 Version) | Groove Armada | |
| 3 | Dub Be Good To Me | Beats International | |
| 4 | Insane in the Brain | Cypress Hill | |
| 5 | Ooh La La | The Wiseguys | |
| 6 | Rocks | Primal Scream | |
| 7 | Don’t Call Me Baby (Original 12″ Mix) | Madison Avenue | |
| 8 | Renegade Master (Fatboy Slim Old Skool Mix) | Wildchild | |
| 9 | You Give Love A Bad Name | Bon Jovi | |
| 10 | Better Off Alone | Alice Deejay | |
| 11 | Dooms Night | Azzido Da Bass | |
| 12 | Song 2 | Blur | |
| 13 | Brimful Of Asha (Norman Cook Remix Extended Version) | Cornershop | |
| 14 | Harder Better Faster | Daft Punk | |
| 15 | Ride On Time (Remix) | Dale Move | |
| 16 | Love You Like That (Original Mix) | Cloonee | |
| 17 | Insomnia (Monster Mix) | Faithless | |
| 18 | Don’t You Want Me (Sgt Slick ReCut) | Felix | |
| 19 | Right Here Right Now (Redanka Remix) | Fatboy Slim | |
| 20 | Need You Tonight | INXS | |
| 21 | Oh, Pretty Woman | Roy Orbison | |
| 22 | Pump Up The Jam (Original Mix) | Technotronic | |
| 23 | The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind) (Massivedrum Remix) | Kenny Dope, The Bucketheads | |
| 24 | Ice Ice Baby | Vanilla Ice | |
| 25 | Horny (98 Extended Mix) | Mousse T., Hot ‘n’ Juicy | |
| 26 | …Baby One More Time | Britney Spears | |
| 27 | Bye Bye Bye (Original) | NSync | |
| 28 | No Diggity (feat. Dr. Dre & Queen Pen) | Blackstreet | |
| 29 | Jumpin’ Jumpin’ | Destiny’s Child | |
| 30 | Can’t Get Enough | Supergroove | |
| 31 | Intergalactic | Beastie Boys | |
| 32 | Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) (Spiller’s Extended Vocal Mix) | Spiller | |
| 33 | Music Sounds Better With You (Original Mix) | Stardust | |
| 34 | Dirty Cash (Money Talks) (Extended Mix) | Adventures Of Stevie V, PAWSA | |
| 35 | Loaded | Primal Scream | |
| 36 | Jump Around | House Of Pain | |
| 37 | I See You Baby (Fatboy Slim Remix) | Groove Armada | |
| 38 | It’s Like That | RUN DMC, Jason Nevins | |
| 39 | I Feel Love (Afrojack Remix) | Donna Summer | |
| 40 | The Roof Is On Fire | Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three | |
| 41 | Sing It Back (I Feel Love) | Moloko | |
| 42 | Jump | Kriss Kross | |
| 43 | Long Train Running | Doobie Brothers | |
| 44 | Hey Boy Hey Girl (Original Mix) | The Chemical Brothers | |
| 45 | Boom Shake The Room | DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince | |
| 46 | Let’s Talk About Sex | Salt ‘N’ Pepa | |
| 47 | Rhythm Is A Dancer (12” Version) | Snap! | |
| 48 | Another Night | Real McCoy | |
| 49 | Around the World (Original Mix) | Daft Punk | |
| 50 | Wannabe (Giovi Bootleg) Extended | Spice Girls | |
| 51 | Everybody | Backstreet Boys | |
| 52 | Can’t Get You out of My Head | Kylie Minogue | |
| 53 | Around the World (Original Mix) | Daft Punk | |
| 54 | Red Alert (Jaxx Club Mix) | Basement Jaxx | |
| 55 | Girls & Boys | Blur | |
| 56 | Vogue (12″ Remix) | Madonna | |
| 57 | What Is Love | Haddaway | |
| 58 | Groove Is In The Heart | Deee-Lite | |
| 59 | BACK TO LIFE | SOUL II SOUL | |
| 60 | Baby Got Back | Sir Mix-A-Lot | |
| 61 | U Can’t Touch This (Original Mix) | MC Hammer | |
| 62 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Nirvana | |
| 63 | Freed from Desire | Gala | |
| 64 | Re-Rewind (Radio Edit) | The Artful Dodger feat. Craig David | |
| 65 | Sandstorm (Original Mix) | Darude | |
| 66 | Children (Original Mix) | Robert Miles | |
| 67 | Born Slippy (Nuxx) | Underworld | |
| 68 | Firestarter (Original Mix) | The Prodigy | |
| 69 | Reach Up (Papa’s Got a Brand New Pig Bag) | Perfecto Allstarz | |
| 70 | Superstylin’ | Groove Armada | |
| 71 | Praise You (Purple Disco Machine Remix) | Fatboy Slim | |
| 72 | Where Love Lives | Alison Limerick | |
| 73 | Space Cowboy (David Morales remix) | Jamiroquai | |
| 74 | One More Time | Daft Punk | |
| 75 | Rapper’s Delight | The Sugarhill Gang | |
| 76 | You Give Love A Bad Name | Bon Jovi |
