Getty Image / Arturo Holmes
The Ska Punk-Surf Rock band Sublime formed all the way back in 1988 has been having a Summer to remember after Jakob Nowell, the son of the late Bradley Nowell who was the band’s frontman and singer who passed away in 1996, assumed the role of the frontman in the band and they have been touring throughout the country from Coachella to Florida.
I’ve been a fan of Sublime since the mid-to-late 90s. Back in April, I wrote extensively about my experience with the music and how I was introduced to Sublime by my older brother who passed away when I was just 13 and how the music of Sublime has kept me connected to him over the years. I never expected that article to reach so many people but I received some incredibly nice responses including one from the band who said they read it on their tour bus.
If you want to read ‘Bradley Nowell’s Son Jakob Taking Over As Sublime’s Frontman Means So Much More Than A Changing Of The Guard‘ you can find it there but not before checking out their latest performance of ‘Santeria’ on The Howard Stern Show. As an elder millennial from a certain era, this performance strikes right to the core of me and gave me goosebumps:
Sublime Performs ‘Santeria’
Jakob Nowell’s stage presence, vocals, and feel for the music is truly incredible. He was only 11 months old when his father Bradley Nowell passed away from an overdose but has lived with his father’s music for his entire life.
To see him carry the torch of the band and forge the connection to the music is incredibly special for him and for people like myself who are lifelong fans of Sublime’s music. We are all really, really fortunate to see this happening.
On that note, I’ve been meaning to share this episode of Artist Friendly with Joel Madden where he sat with Jakob Nowell. They discuss what it was like for Jakob growing up with his father’s legacy, losing his father to an overdose, embracing comparisons, sobriety, and more: