Sublime Returning With New Singer

Last February, 13 years after lead singer Bradley Nowell died from an overdose, the remaining two members of Sublime, Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson, appeared at a Sparks, Nev. club with singer Rome, a 20-year-old Northern California native. A My Space blog entry on Gaugh's Del Mar band page called it "Sublime reuniting and playing with new singer Rome."

Despite the immediate clamor over the possibility of one of the '90s' biggest groups returning with a new singer, the trio, which drew raves on internet message boards like, "The show was unreal" and "The new singer sound amazing," has been silent. Rumored appearances at Bamboozle and opening for No Doubt were just that -- rumors.

However, Sublime are ready to hit the stage again and bring songs like 'What I Got, 'Santeria, 'Date Rape' and 'Doing Time' to a new generation of fans. The new lineup will have their official coming out party this October when they join Slipknot, Pennywise, Goodie Mob, the Geto Boys, Cheech and Chong and many more at the return of Cypress Hill's Smokeout Festival Oct. 23 and 24 in San Bernardino, California.

"The last minute addition of our very special guests Sublime is crazy. We always strive to make our shows a once in a lifetime event. I know Bud, Eric and Rome can't wait to tear up the Smokeout stage," promoter Chang Weisberg said in a statement. While there unquestionably will be some doubters on this, given how Sublime's legacy has grown exponentially since Nowell's death, we can pretty safely guarantee there will be a lot of people watching Smoke Out now. Organizer B-Real agrees, saying "This will be our best Smokeout ever."