Party101: The nostalgia rave you didn’t know you needed

By Grace Bonamico

The moment you step into Mulcahy’s for Party101, the atmosphere hits like a warm wave, the bass shivering through the floors, the chatter of early arrivals, and the unmistakable electricity of a room about to erupt. Party101 isn’t just a themed night of nostalgia; it’s a carefully engineered pop-culture time machine hosted by Matt Bennett, the actor and musician best known for playing Robbie Shapiro on Nickelodeon’s Victorious. The show has grown into an international phenomenon, celebrated for its humor, sincerity, and pitch-perfect curation of the songs that defined a generation raised on Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and Top 40 radio.

At its core, Party101 is a communal throwback rave, designed to make you feel young again in the best possible way. And at Mulcahy’s, a Wantagh, Long Island venue practically in Bennett’s backyard, it becomes something even bigger, a homecoming celebration wrapped in glitter, sweat, and joy.

The Opener

Most Party101 shows start with DJ Const (Erin Constantine), whose job is less “opener” and more “ignition switch.” She builds the crowd layer by layer, blending nostalgia-adjacent tracks like Selena Gomez’s “Naturally” with party staples from artists like Pitbull, Chappell Roan, and ABBA. Her transitions are smooth, her command of the room is immediate, and she knows when to push and when to hold back.

By the time her set hits its final beat, the room is vibrating, people dancing, already shouting lyrics, already drenched in the shared adrenaline that defines Party101. It’s easy to see why she’s become a permanent part of the tour: she doesn’t just warm the audience up; she primes them for chaos.

Matt Bennett’s Energy

When Bennett bursts onstage, in this case, in a full-body turkey onesie, the room goes nuclear. His entrance is loud, absurd, and completely on-brand. What follows is almost three hours of nonstop movement: Bennett sprinting from one side of the stage to the other, dancing with a kind of joyous abandon, belting along to every track, and repeatedly diving into the crowd as though the packed audience were an extension of the stage itself.

What’s remarkable isn’t just his stamina but the way it shapes the experience. His energy doesn’t fade, dip, or waver. It pulls the audience forward, lifts their energy with his, and keeps the room in constant motion. Even by the final song, Bennett looked ready to go another hour.

Crowd Interaction

One of the most defining elements of Party101 is how deeply Bennett interacts with the audience. Minutes into the show, he’s asking who’s returning, who’s new, and what townspeople came from, rattling off Long Island locations with genuine excitement before introducing the show, saying that everyone there was a student at Hollywood Arts, which naturally made him our Sikowitz.

Throughout the night, he tosses treats and props into the crowd, Munchkins bobbing over raised hands, Olive Garden breadsticks arcing above, and Outback pumpernickel loaves landing like prizes at a carnival. At one point, he even took videos of the crowd dancing to “You Don’t Know Me” from Victorious to send to co-star Elizabeth Gillies.

Later in the show, he invites fans onstage to dance with him, turning the atmosphere from concert to celebration. Just before the final song, Bennett shifts gears and brings out his guitar, creating a brief but intimate moment in which the room softens and becomes a choir. His final giveaways, two coconuts awarded to the biggest partiers, are absurd, hilarious, and entirely fitting.

After the coconuts were handed out, he happily told the crowd that we had graduated from Hollywood Arts as he played his last song, “Leave It All to Shine” from iParty with Victorious.

WATCH the Grace Cam from the show.

The Music

The heartbeat of Party101 is the music, curated with the precision of someone who lived these eras right alongside the audience. The set opened with “Beggin’ on Your Knees” by Victoria Justice, an instant grounding point for Victorious fans, and from there Bennett moved through a cascade of early-2000s and 2010s favorites.

Deep cuts from Victorious blended seamlessly with High School Musical anthems, tracks from The Lizzie McGuire Movie, and instantly recognizable TV theme songs. “Call Me, Beep Me” turned the dance floor into a chorus. The Dora the Explorer theme made the room laugh and shout in equal measure.

Every song was chosen for its nostalgia punch and for its ability to make you dance and sing along. Even the transitions between tracks were calibrated to keep the room in motion with no lull. It wasn’t simply a throwback playlist; it was a curated narrative of childhood and adolescence, brought to life at full volume.

Mulcahy’s Show-Specific: His Love for Long Island

Mulcahy’s isn’t just another venue for Bennett; it’s part of his history. Having grown up in Massapequa, only a few minutes away, he treats this show like the emotional centerpiece of his yearly tour, calling it his “favorite show of the year,” and lovingly dubbing his annual performance his “homecoming tour.”

His family stood in the crowd, cheering and laughing along, and their presence only deepened the sense that this show was something personal. This show wasn’t just a stop on an international tour; it was a holiday tradition, a hometown celebration, a closing chapter to his year of shows. That energy radiated through the room, turning what was already an electric night into one steeped with warmth, pride, and genuine gratitude.

By the end of the night, voices hoarse and the last pulses of bass still thudding through the walls, Party101 felt like more than a concert. It felt like a collective memory made new again. It felt like Long Island welcoming home one of its own, and Matt Bennett giving every ounce of himself right back.

Final verdict: 10/10. If you ever get the chance to attend Party101, take it. You’ll leave sweaty, hoarse, and already wanting to go again.