Last weekend, the venue took to social media to announce that a young patron had overdosed while attending a show last week. Luckily, the patron was saved thanks to Narcan at the venue’s bar.
“This was a wake-up call,” read the statement. “It is impossible for us to ensure that certain drugs do not make their way into our club and into patrons' hands. It is especially difficult and dangerous for young people who do not know the gravity of certain personal decisions.”
Initially, the venue reported that the person who suffered the overdose was underage, but general manager Chad Withers confirmed that the individual is 19.
The situation has raised further awareness for the necessity of having Narcan available at bars and clubs. LeAnne Burdette knows this firsthand. In 2019, she lost her son Jacob to an opioid overdose. Now, she runs a nonprofit called Jacob’s Journey, which focuses on distributing Narcan and education on proper usage. Jacob was a musician, so a situation like that at Rubber Gloves is significant for her.
“All clubs, no matter where they are, need Narcan available,” she says. “This was an example where, thank goodness, it saved this person.”
On Aug. 31, Burdette will be sharing her message and distributing Narcan for a celebration of National Overdose Awareness Day, held in the middle of the downtown Denton square, walking distance from Rubber Gloves.
“With the availability of Narcan,” Burdette says. “Nobody in our country should ever overdose again.”
Rubber Gloves is responding by implementing an 18-plus policy for attendees. Younger crowds populate many of the venue's shows, both in the audience and on stage. Withers says minors will still be allowed to perform and will be allowed in if they’re with a legal guardian over the age of 21.
“We’ve been discussing this as a company for a while,” Withers says. “It wasn’t this one incident that caused us to make this decision. We’re working on kind of crafting the language of what constitutes a guardian or not. We’re gonna do what we can to make it flexible.”
The Denton music scene received the decision graciously, but not without some worry for the future. Daniel Henao is the frontman and guitarist for Dead Stereo, a Denton-based grunge metal band that performs and attends shows at Rubber Gloves.
“I feel like it’ll affect the band’s turnout,” he says. “Especially with all the Denton high schoolers and the incoming college freshmen.”
It’s been a busy 2025 for the band. Just last week, they released their first EP, Stains, after having just two songs available on streaming. Henao says they’ve picked up a strong following from Denton’s younger crowd.
“I’m not mad or anything about the new rules,” he says. “It’s for the safety of the younger crowds. It did take me by surprise a bit because from the time I’ve lived here in Denton, I never heard of something like that happening at a show.”
Jacobo Kolinsky is a regular in the North Texas underground scene. At 17, he plays in a couple of local alt-rock acts, Solar Flares and This Saturn Factory, and can usually be found on weekend nights wherever the new bands are playing.
“I think the choice to make it 18-plus is overall a good one,” he says. “However, it does impact the alternative teens that are interested in the scene, because often their parents may not want to go with them.”
Of course, the teens who want to be involved in the scene will find an avenue; it might not lead to Rubber Gloves anymore.
“I think it’ll push younger kids into more strictly DIY or house shows,” Kolinsky says. “Personally, I am saddened by it, but it was necessary for what actually happened.”
Rubber Gloves is planning to hold at least three all-ages shows this summer. The shows will be entirely alcohol-free on the venue’s patio. The first will be on Sunday, June 8, featuring California-based Knumears and Othiel!, with locals Sinema and bulletsbetweentongues. There will also be two in-house, all-ages shows on July 11 and 26 from 12 to 5 p.m. Lineups are yet to be announced, but tickets are set at $5.
