About a year ago, longtime friends Laura Baginski and Susie Lee reunited at their 30-year high school reunion. The two women spoke to each other about their careers, motherhood, and everything in between. They expressed how much they missed going out and how they struggled to find a place that played their favorite music and played late into the night.
That long conversation inspired the duo to start Early Birds Club. This is a fun dance party for “middle-aged” women, non-binary people who want to go out, transgender people, and people who “need to go to bed by 11 p.m. because they have to work.” It’s a party. There’s nothing to do in the morning,” as the tagline says. This (almost) bimonthly event started in February in Chicago and has expanded to New York. I’ll be in LA next month
“It’s just women supporting women, creating a safe space where they can do absolutely ridiculous things and dance like they haven’t danced in a long time,” says Laura Baginski.
(Megan Sputter)
As the name suggests, the evening’s events start and end early, starting at 6pm and ending at 10pm.
“I can’t stay up late anymore,” said Baginski, 49, a former nonprofit marketing director and mother of two young children. “There’s nothing that speaks to such needs for women our age. You can go out to dinner or take a yoga class, but if you want to go out dancing, the club is the place to go in the afternoon. It doesn’t open until about 10 o’clock, so that’s out of the question for us.”
She added, “We don’t really dance in groups anymore, except for weddings and bar mitzvahs. At this age, it’s probably not the only place you can dance.”
For Lee, who has stage 4 breast cancer, the Early Birds Club has given her something to focus on outside of her own battle. “The diagnosis, chemotherapy and surgery brought my life to a complete standstill,” says Lee, 49, who has been a makeup artist for more than 20 years. She has battled cancer five times.
“I was completely depressed,” Lee says. “Then we started the Early Birds Club on a whim and switched our focus to creating joy and fun for others.”
Baginski and Lee held their first party in February at Chicago’s Burlington dive bar on a blinding snowstorm night. Despite the weather, more than 100 people showed up, many of them strangers, ready to dance and sing with their girlfriends in a sweaty room. Lee’s cousin, known as DJ hbom (Helene Lee), provided the evening’s soundtrack, playing 80s new wave (Baginski and Lee’s favorite genre), nostalgic pop records, and female empowerment songs. Party favorites include “Poison” by Bell Biv DeVoe, “Like a Prayer” by Madonna, “Turn Down for What” by DJ Snake and Lil Jon, “Fantasy” by Mariah Carey, and “Fantasy” by Britney Spears. Includes things.
Word of the party spread quickly and they upgraded to a larger capacity venue for their next party. There was still a waiting list of over 600 people, so we quickly held another event to meet demand.
After receiving several requests from their followers on social media, Baginski and Lee decided to start hosting parties. They held two events in New York in November, both of which were sold out.
The event was clearly created for middle-aged women, transgender and non-binary people, but people over 21 are welcome to attend, as long as they don’t identify as male.
Attendees show up to the Early Birds Club party in May and dance to the music.
(Julie Dietz)
“There’s plenty of space for men,” Lee said. “Women need a safe place where no one is going to creep them out, hit them or make them feel uncomfortable. At some parties, some attendees even brought their daughters. They hosted 11 parties in Chicago this year.
Reflecting on the Early Birds Club’s seemingly rapid success, Baginski and Lee say people connect to the club because they feel free from the responsibilities of running a home, raising children, or caring for aging parents. , because you can leave it to them. Go all out on the dance floor.
“This age group is not being addressed,” Lee said. “We don’t stand out in the media and marketing, which is foolish, because we (often) control the household’s finances.”
She added, “During the pandemic, mothers had to basically take care of everything and had so much stress. So this is totally aimed at middle-aged women. People. For the first time, I feel seen and heard. I’m like, “Oh, that’s amazing.” This is a community of women who understand me. ”
On the Saturday after the presidential election, Baginski and Lee were worried that no one would show up to their party. But when hundreds of people came, we realized how much it was needed.
“In the current climate, spaces like this feel even more essential and almost political, which was never our intention,” Baginski says. “Now I feel like it’s an act of resistance.”
The Early Birds Club will hold its first LA parties on January 10th at Sardine in San Pedro and January 11th at Virgil near Silver Lake. Admission is $40. Ten percent of all proceeds will be donated to two LA-based nonprofits: Rainbow Services and the Los Angeles LGBT Center (specifically the Trans Wellness Center).
“This is more than just a scene,” Baginski said, adding that the event “come as you are.” Attendees wear everything from sequin-laden looks to pajama sets with Ugg slippers. The only thing they don’t recommend people wear are heels. “It hurts,” Baginski jokes.
“It’s pure joy, fun and great energy,” she added. “It’s just women supporting women and creating a safe space where they can do absolutely ridiculous things and dance like they haven’t danced in a long time.”
