The Magic Bag in Ferndale hosted a sold-out event on Jan. 30, but it wasn’t the typical intimate concert the small-capacity venue is known for. Instead, it was a special kind of dance party targeting women and gender-expansive people, particularly Gen X and millennials. The event was called the Earlybirds Club. What set it apart from other dance parties is that it started at 6 p.m. and ended at 10 p.m. Why? Because, according to the Earlybirds Club’s website, it’s “a dance party for ladies who have sh*t to do in the morning.”
A Brief History of the Earlybirds Club
High-school friends Laura Baginski and Susie Lee launched the Earlybirds Club in Chicago in 2024. (Lee, sadly, passed away in August 2025 after a five-year battle with metastatic breast cancer.) The two friends wanted to create an event where women and femmes could dance freely without having to deal with creepy folks (i.e., predominantly men) and still go home at a reasonable hour.
The Earlybirds Club has since expanded into a traveling event in cities all over the U.S. This unique event shows no signs of slowing. This is especially great considering 10% of the proceeds go to a local women-centered nonprofit.
“It’s crazy how quickly these events sell out — ladies are clearly here for it,” said Baginski at the Magic Bag. “A 1,200-capacity event almost sold out after going on sale this morning. It shows there’s a massive need for an event like this all over the country and that there’s a lot of solidarity.”
Earlybirds music director Helean Lee notes, “It really feels like women need this. A very common response I often hear from people who attend is, ‘I never knew how much I needed this.’ Women are always saddled with so many responsibilities, and this is a place where they can be themselves.”
The Invisible Weight Women Carry
Among the merchandise sold at Earlybirds Club events and on its website are a number of items with the phrase “Remember who tf you are.” In a world in which women carry so many silent responsibilities, particularly in relationships with men, the phrase hits close to home.
Several medical journals, health resources, and other notable outlets have covered the disparity of household chores within heterosexual relationships. A January 2020 Gallup report found that women were more likely to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility when it comes to child care, as well as preparing meals, cleaning the home, doing the laundry, and making decisions about home decor.
A January 2021 Pew Research Center report revealed that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people (both men and women) worked from home, the gender gap in household responsibilities persisted. When it comes to household chores, 59% of women said they did more work than their male spouses or partners. This gap was even larger with child care, with 74% of women saying they manage the activities and schedules of their offspring rather than their male spouses or partners.
Those responsibilities can be absolutely draining. They were front-of-mind while I was at the Magic Bag for the very first Earlybirds Club event in metro Detroit. I saw women of all ages dance with abandon to hits from En Vogue, Salt-N-Pepa, and Destiny’s Child. I scream-sang along with them to Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know.”
Earlybirds Club’s next trip to metro Detroit is on April 17 at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit’s Midtown, which is nearly three times the capacity of the Magic Bag. For tickets and to check for future visits, go to early-birds.club.
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