Count Slightly Stoopid frontman Miles Doughty among the fans of the reformed Sublime.
At the end of 2023, original members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh reunited alongside Jakob Nowell, son of late frontman Bradley Nowell. They performed at Coachella 2024 and have a number of festival sets lined up for the rest of the year.
“You can close your eyes and there’s moments just where Jakob sounds so much like his dad,” Doughty says.
And Doughty would know — before his passing in 1996, Bradley discovered Slightly Stoopid and signed them to his label, Skunk Records.
“We knew Brad,” Doughty says. “We were able to do things with those guys back in the day when we were teenagers, and have been friends with their families since.”
In hearing Jakob front Sublime, Doughty notes that he puts a “new twist” on Bradley’s voice and playing.
“He doesn’t sing it exactly like Brad did,” Doughty says. “But what’s cool is there’s elements where [he does], and then he adds his own little taste to it, which is what he is as an artist.”
“I’m proud of [Jakob],” he adds. “Those are big shoes to step into, but it’s also the right time. I always told [Bradley’s widow] Troy [Dendekker] if anyone was gonna do it, at some point in his life it should be Jakob. Those are his father’s songs.”
Sublime will be performing at Slightly Stoopid’s Closer to the Sun Mexico destination event in December. Their upcoming schedule also includes Riot Fest, Oceans Calling and the just announced Suwannee Hulaween.