Sublime is making a new album with Travis Barker

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Sublime is working on a new album with the son of the band’s late frontman.

The highly impactful Long Beach ska-punk group, who lost their lead singer Bradley Nowell in 1996, announced on Wednesday that they are composing and recording songs featuring Jakob Nowell, Bradley’s 29-year-old son, who took over his father’s position in Sublime towards the end of 2023. The band is collaborating with producers Travis Barker (from Blink-182) and John Feldmann and intends to launch their first single from the album this summer.

Barker stated that he was raised with the influence of Sublime, expressing that their 1992 album “40 Oz. to Freedom” significantly altered how he experienced music. Feldmann, renowned for his collaboration with pop-punk groups like Good Charlotte and 5 Seconds of Summer, expressed that working alongside Sublime was a remarkable moment in his life.

Music

Jacob Nowell and the founding members of Sublime discuss the band’s enduring impact, their separation from singer Rome Ramirez, and the bright, beachy vibe of Long Beach they helped create.

Last year, Jakob Nowell took over as the lead for Sublime at Coachella, following their debut performance with H.R. of the influential hardcore band Bad Brains during a charity concert. Since then, he has been performing alongside drummer Bud Gaugh and bassist Eric Wilson, who co-founded Sublime with Bradley Nowell in the late ’80s. Unfortunately, Bradley Nowell passed away due to an accidental heroin overdose only two months before the release of their first major-label album. Remarkably, this self-titled LP achieved quintuple-platinum status, generating hit singles such as “What I Got,” “Santeria,” and “Wrong Way” on alt-rock radio in the late ’90s.

Following Nowell’s passing, Gaugh and Wilson joined forces in the Long Beach Dub Allstars. In the year 2009, they recruited singer and guitarist Rome Ramirez to perform as Sublime’s music under the moniker Sublime with Rome.

Previously, Jakob Nowell revealed to The Times that for years, people had urged him to perform with his father’s former bandmates, yet he remained hesitant. This was due to a mix of pursuing his own musical passions and the intricate nature of his relationship with his father’s memory. However, after experiencing what he referred to as a “spiritual journey” to the Petaluma theater where Bradley Nowell played his last concert, Jakob decided to reconsider.

This summer, Sublime is set to perform on various dates, with one of those performances taking place on May 3 at the BeachLife festival in Redondo Beach.

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2025-03-26 20:31