‘All-grown-up’ Birdees nightclub on Fortitude Valley set to reopen with a bang

One of the most iconic nightclubs to hit the Fortitude Valley scene this century is about to reopen with a bang following a five-year hiatus. WE TAKE A SNEAK PEEK INSIDE

• Mega gallery: Flashback to Birdees in the 2010s

It’s the iconic venue that saw in every pop culture moment of this century, not in the least my very own first night out on the town, and its closure left backpackers and Brisbane clubrats alike devastated, but from this week, Birdees is back.

Like a phoenix rising from its jager bomb-soaked ashes, Birdees has undergone a monumental transformation, and is gearing up to bring its signature style of night-out fun back to the Valley.

After the 608 Ann St venue’s closure in 2020, as Covid wreaked havoc on the hospitality and entertainment industries, there was a whole generation left a little nostalgic at the loss, missing some of their fondest (and foggiest memories) - including me.

Just a few short years before those vaguely scungy doors closed for good, an almost 18-year-old me packed up from her rural Queensland hometown and took on the bright lights of Brisvegas for “uni”.

Journalist Ayla Connolly partying at Birdees, 2017. Photo: Supplied

I say uni loosely because, like any small-town kid suddenly given freedom in the city, I spent a lot of time partying.

While myself and my new best friends were fond of wherever we could get cheap drinks and good vibes (I’m looking at you, Dunder and Irish Murphy’s), Birdees was the one venue that quickly became our new old faithful.

My first ever night out, with my fun-loving mum by my side, happened amid Birdees’ throbbing R&B beat and pink-lit dance floor, and it was the immediate solution to my first mid-semester exam-induced breakdown.

To this day, my now-husband fondly recalls the rooftop club as the place I up-ended a full jug of their signature on-tap cocktail into the lap of a stranger who was being a little bit too familiar.

The interior at the relaunched Birdees nightclub. Photo: Supplied

Ask almost any person of clubbing age that lived in Brisbane between 2003 and 2020 and I can guarantee you they probably have a Birdees story.

Now, after five years behind closed doors, a $7m renovation and the build and launch of upstairs Beaumont Hotel and beer garden, Birdees is ready to welcome us back, and share its legacy with the next generation.

While we might remember Birdees for its prime rooftop location, attached to backpacker accommodation and sporting a bizarre little pool, the “all grown up” Birdees is almost unrecognisable.

The interior at the relaunched Birdees nightclub. Photo: Supplied

That once open-air venue has been closed in to create a moody, neon-lit space, lined with velvet booths and retro lamps, and sports an expansive stage and DJ decks.

The all-too familiar pool is now home to the 70s-esque tile-lined bar space, but for those still craving a late-night dip, there’s one up in the Beaumont Beer Garden.

The team at Mobius Group built the upstairs Beaumont space as an “elevated” venue where Birdees partygoers can pre-load, or head for a mid-sesh break, saying the club has grown up, just like its former patrons.

Group general manager Danny Webster-Clamp, hinted the new venue would become an icon in the local late-night music scene.

“Birdees is our love letter to music and the people who live for it,” he said.

“It’s where old-school soul and new-age sound collide, creating something Brisbane has never seen before.”

With a huge LED screen backing the stage, the venue will also focus heavily on audiovisual aspects, and is set to host everything from underground house parties and live performances, to curated DJ line-ups and of course, throwback sets paying homage to the birdees gone by.

Birdees 2.0 will host its grand opening launch party on July 27 and 28.