Sublime Rocks Coachella as Jakob Nowell Plays Late Father Bradley’s Guitar

Ethan Shanfeld
·2 min read
12

Sublime brought the LBC to Indio on Saturday as Bradley Nowell’s son, Jakob Nowell, united with original band members Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson for a sun-soaked Coachella set.

Jakob Nowell carries on the legacy of Sublime 28 years after Bradley’s death in 1996. Coincidentally, Nowell, 28, is currently the same age as his father when he passed.

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On top of all that, Jakob played his dad’s custom guitar and Mesa Boogie amp, while drummer Gaugh sat behind his signature green kit. Saturday’s Coachella set marked the first time the green drum kit and Bradley’s guitar were on the same stage since the last Sublime tour in 1996.

Before teaming with Gaugh and Wilson to revive Sublime, Jakob Nowell sang for the Long Beach-based ska-punk band LAW and then started a new project, Jakobs Castle, which is releasing new music in 2024.

After Bradley Nowell’s death, Sublime members Gaugh and Wilson teamed up with singer Rome Ramirez to form Sublime With Rome, an offshoot band that would go on to tour for more than a decade. (Sublime With Rome announced its farewell tour this summer, with none of the original members of Sublime participating.) Gaugh left the group in December 2011 and was replaced by Josh Freese. The group underwent a few other lineup changes throughout the years, and in February 2024 Wilson announced on Instagram he would no longer be performing with Sublime With Rome — only the new Sublime with Jakob Nowell.

Setlist:

*April 29, 1992 (Miami)
*Garden Grove
*Wrong Way
*Same in the End
*S.T.P.
*Pawn Shop
*What I Got
*Greatest Hits
*Date Rape
*Badfish
*Jailhouse
*Romeo
*Doin’ Time
*Santeria

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