Sublime Practice a Little 'Santeria' on 'Howard Stern' (2024)

Sublime, with Bradley Nowell’s son Jakob at the helm, deliver a pristine rendition of their classic “Santeria” in a preview of their upcoming performance on Howard Stern, premiering exclusively on Rolling Stone.

The rendition of “Santeria” shows just how well Nowell has settled into the band since he joined earlier this year. His voice, unsurprisingly, bears some resemblance to his late father’s, but while singing “Santeria,” he still finds space to inject his own character into the song.

“Santeria” is one of four songs Sublime will perform on Howard Stern Presents Sublime, which will drop Wednesday on the SiriusXM app before airing this Friday at 7 p.m. ET on SiriusXM Howard 101. The set list will feature two other classics — “Wrong Way” and “What I Got” — as well as the band’s first new song in 28 years, “Feel Like That.”

Sublime reunited earlier this year, with the younger Nowell linking up with original drummer Bud Gaugh and bassist Eric Wilson (Bradley Nowell fronted Sublime until his death in 1996 at age 28). Until recently, a version of the band known as Sublime with Rome had been touring and performing regularly with guitarist-vocalist Rome Ramirez and Wilson.

In an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this year, Jakob spoke about finally stepping into his father’s shoes and how he views the role. “I’ve spent almost 11 years of grueling, grinding work and basem*nt shows and sleeping on floors,” he said. “I’m still putting in my work here, man. So for me, getting to play with Sublime, it’s like a custodial duty. I just feel very lucky to get to be there with my uncles and very honored to get to be a part of music at all, man.”

Sublime made their return at Coachella in April, then released “Feel Like That” in May. The new song featured a sample of some old Bradley Nowell vocals taken from an improvised (and long-bootlegged) jam Sublime recorded in early 1996.