Updated June 12, 2026 at 12:50 PM CDT
Sublime was one of the breakthrough bands of 1996 — and one of the year's great tragedies.
The band's major-label debut album scored three big hits: "What I Got," "Santeria," and "Wrong Way." But lead singer Bradley Nowell didn't live to see the band's success. At just 28 years old, he died of a heroin overdose before the album's release.
Nowell's son, Jakob, was 11 months old.
Now 30, Jacob is standing where his father once did, fronting Sublime with his dad's old bandmates, Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh. Their first new album since Bradley's death is called Until the Sun Explodes.
"It was something that I myself really never wanted any part of," Jakob Nowell told Morning Edition host A Martínez. "Because of just how much an emotional weight and responsibility there is behind it."
He said it took the encouragement of his bandmates in Sublime to overcome his wariness.
"I'd basically been offered a gig to fill in for a pre-established and beloved singer, so that's already kind of a big ask," Nowell said. "There is an added element too of, well, I'm related to this original guy."
Nowell said he worried about the artistic challenge of sounding like his father yet still retaining his own identity.
"The biggest unexpected thing is how much I truly fell in love with the sound of this band. And I'm not just saying that. I finally got it."
Until the Sun Explodes was released June 12.
Listen to the interview by clicking on the blue play button above.
The audio interview was produced by Phil Harrell and edited by Ashley Westerman.
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