Prospect High School grads Laura Baginski and Susie Lee are turning back the clock in more ways than one.
They are co-founders of the Earlybirds Club, which describes itself as a “dance party for ladies who got (stuff) to do in the morning.”
Now the club is bringing one of its dance parties to the suburbs for the first time on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Durty Nellie’s in Palatine.
Laura Baginski, left, and Susie Lee are co-founders of the Earlybirds Club.
Courtesy of Laura Baginski
The parties run from 6-10 p.m. and are aimed mainly at women 35 to 55 who have jobs and families to tend to in the morning and need a good night’s rest. It’s a girl’s night out, with an emphasis on nonjudgmental fun.
Laura Baginski, co-founder of the Earlybirds Club, is bringing a dance party for ladies to Durty Nellie’s in Palatine next month.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
“It’s a supportive community of women, female-identified people, trans and nonbinary folks who wouldn’t think to judge your fashion or your Elaine Benes-inspired dance moves,” the club’s website states, using a “Seinfeld” reference its audience would immediately understand.
Baginski and Lee came up with the idea when they reconnected at their 30th high school reunion in October. Both were co-editors of their school newspaper, The Prospector.
“We’ve been in and out of each other’s lives since high school,” Lee said. “Reconnecting after so many life changes has been rewarding. We are better versions of our younger selves — smarter, less self-conscious, wiser.”
The duo has been hosting events once or twice a month in Chicago.
“Because Susie and I are from the Northwest Suburbs, we wanted our first suburban party to be around where we grew up,” Baginski said. “So Durty Nellie’s seemed like a great fit for us, because the Metra pulls up right to the front door, so people from the city could go, but it’s very central to the Northwest Suburbs.”
Baginski said the party could attract between 250 to 350 people. Admission is $35, with 10% of the proceeds benefiting a local charity.
The two didn’t have a grand plan when they started the venture.
“This was just going to be a fun thing for our friends to go to,” Baginski said. “And then it took off and became a viral thing.”
Past events have had wait lists, and one sold out in 12 minutes. Since the club started in February, it has gained 3,500 followers on Instagram.
Now they have plans to branch out in New York and Los Angeles, while sticking with their ladies-only policy.
“When it’s just women, it feels different, the vibe is different,” Baginski said. “It’s more of a supportive sisterhood kind of vibe. You can just dance and look stupid and nobody cares, and there’s no judgment at all. It’s just pure fun.”
There is also an aspect of generational empowerment.
“When you get to be the age we are, often you kind of feel a little bit forgotten by society,” Baginski said. “We’re not ready to be put out to nightlife pasture.”
The parties allow attendees to enjoy the experience of clubbing, while getting home in time to get a good night’s rest, recharge and carry on with life.
“At this age, I have a lot of life left. But I don’t want to go to a dance club and leave the house at midnight and get home at 4 a.m.,” Baginski said. “I have two young kids. I can’t do that anymore, nor would I want to.”
The music played spans generations from the 1980s to the early 2000s.
“Susie and I bonded over our love of New Wave music, like The Cure and Depeche Mode,” Baginski said. But the mix will also include House, R&B and hip-hop. “Mostly we want it to be music that people know, that they can shout the lyrics at the top of their lungs.”
Lee said she has been going through Stage 4 breast cancer since 2020, which has posed a physical and mental challenge.
“It sounds crazy to start up a venture in the middle of this experience, but it really has been fun doing this with Laura,” she said. “We laugh nonstop, and being at the events surrounded by women smiling and full of joy feels like a celebration of life.”
Lee said she feels love and support from the women who empathize with her cancer journey. In May, when she had brain surgery, Baginski FaceTimed her while she was on stage at a party.
“All the ladies cheered me on,” Lee said. “That was definitely an ugly cry moment.”
Both women see the Earlybirds Club as part of a trend to offer opportunities to middle-aged women who still want to be free to have fun.
“It’s not a mom meetup or playdate, not a book club, not Pilates or yoga,” Lee said. “Just a safe space to have fun without judgment.”