This weekend, August 15 and 16, Sublime will invade Las Vegas for a specially curated concert experience. Across two shows and various events, Sublime – along with friends Pennywise, The Vandals, The Ataris, Long Beach Dub Allstars and Strange Case – will celebrate the band’s legacy and future.
It’s the exclamation point on a summer that has already seen Sublime deliver “Ensenada,” their first original track with Jakob Nowell at the helm. The song’s popularity has further ratcheted up excitement for the group’s long awaited full length album, so we can’t help but wonder – will we hear any new material in Vegas?
Sublime Have Been Dropping Hints About New Music
In various interviews, both Nowell and drummer Bud Gaugh have offered tidbits regarding guests on the as-yet-unnamed album.
“We definitely have some other artists that we’re working with on some of these tracks,” Gaugh admitted to The Pier, adding that Pennywise guitarist Fletcher Dragge “is gonna be on one of those punk rock songs.”
READ MORE: Sublime Drummer Confirms Upcoming Pennywise Collaboration
In a conversation with Rolling Stone, Nowell named Fidlar’s Zac Carper and Bad Brains’ Paul “HR” Hudson as other collaborators. He later added G Love to the list during a conversation with radio station KROQ.
“A lot of the stuff is inspired by unreleased Sublime material,” the singer elaborated during his KROQ interview. “This is my tribute and inspiration to the work of my uncles. Because, I mean, you can’t match up to something like that that happened in that era and it was just a moment in time.”
There is still no release date for Sublime’s full length album. In July, Jakob estimated there would be 18 songs on the release, seemingly plenty of material to satisfy their passionate fanbase (at least briefly).
So What Does This Mean for Vegas?
In the lead up to their Las Vegas takeover, the members of Sublime have consistently said that each night’s set list will be unique. With their sets scheduled to last 1.5 hours, that puts them in the range of 20-25 songs a night — plenty of time to squeeze in deep cuts and, should they if they feel so inclined, a new tune or two.
Having Pennywise on the bill also makes Dragge, one of their notable guest collaborators on the new material, ready and available. Neither G Love nor Fidlar have performances conflicting with the Vegas weekend, so while it’s unlikely either G or Carper shows up, it’s also not totally off the table. After all, the poster promoting Fear, Loathing and Sublime in Las Vegas clearly notes “special guests.”
Then there’s the simple fact that this is Sublime’s weekend. The band is getting honored at the Punk Rock Museum. Parties, acoustic jam sessions and memorabilia displays will celebrate the group’s legacy. There is perhaps no other event that would make more sense for them to surprise fans with something new. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but we’re definitely excited to find out.
Tickets for Sublime’s Las Vegas weekend can be purchased here.
