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It's 8pm at the club. Robyn's "Dancing On My Own" blares from the speakers. The crowd goes wild, jumping up and down and scream-signing the lyrics. You toast with the people on your left, you high five with the group on your right—and they're all women. This is Earlybirds, "a dance party for ladies who got shit to do in the morning," and it's coming to New York City this month after nearly a dozen sold-out events in Chicago.
Earlybirds Club, a dance party for women, trans and non-binary folks, starts at 6pm and ends at 10pm because, as co-founder Laura Baginski tells Time Out, "people our age need their sleep." But that doesn't mean they want to miss the party, and the party's coming to NYC on Nov 15 at Parkside Lounge on the Lower East Side and Nov 16 at Shapeshifter Lab in Park Slope. A nationwide expansion is in the works.
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At age 49, Baginski fondly remembers going dancing in her 20s and staying out late. Now, she has "no interest in leaving my house at 10pm to start my night," but she missed dancing and missed having fun nights out with her friends.
She wanted to create a new nightlife experience, one that didn't include being around "a bunch of cis dudes." Instead, she wanted to create a completely different event that would fit her life and the lives of her peers better. So Baginski brought the idea to her friend Susie Lee, and Earlybirds bloomed in early 2024. The concept went viral and sold out quickly.
"There is something about being in a room full of women that feels really freeing," Baginski says.
The parties offer a space for attendees to dance, let loose, be silly and "tap into that person maybe you've forgotten," Baginski says.
There is something about being in a room full of women that feels really freeing.
"It's very freeing and it's so fun," she says. "It's just joy."
Attendees typically range in age from 35–65, and Baginski emphasizes that Earlybirds is a safe space for trans and non-binary people. At the events, people have shared how much they needed the experience.
While the event is a blast, it is also deeply meaningful.
"Being a middle aged woman, you kind of feel forgotten by society," Baginski says. "Your outlets for fun are, like, yoga classes and book clubs. Fuck that, I've got way more life in me."
Seeing a gap in the offerings for women, the duo sprang into action to create this space.
We're part of a movement where we're saying, 'fuck you, middle age.'
"We're part of a movement where we're saying, 'fuck you, middle age.' We're here having a blast. We can still do it. We’re not going quietly into the nightlife pasture."