Sublime’s Jakob Nowell Almost Didn’t Perform at Warped Tour After Losing His Cat

Sublime’s Jakob Nowell played Warped Tour Long Beach on Saturday, just hours after putting down his cat, Creature.

Jakob Nowell, frontman of Sublime and son of late vocalist Bradley Nowell, took the stage at Vans Warped Tour in Long Beach on Saturday just hours after the death of his pet cat, Creature. Addressing the crowd mid-set, Nowell revealed he had put down the hairless cat the night before, calling Creature his “best f***ing friend.”

Nowell admitted he almost didn’t play the show. “I realized somebody out there is probably going through something, and maybe the music will help,” he told fans. He also said performing with his late father’s bandmates in Sublime has been “healing” during the difficult moment.

Nowell paid tribute to Creature on Instagram, sharing a carousel of personal photos including one of the cat. “Last pic goes hard 🐈‍⬛🐈,” he wrote. “Can’t believe Ensenada is out. The last couple weeks of my life have been chaos, but like, in a good way 👺… Thank you to my uncles and the fans for letting me be a part of this insane experience, and thank you to my pops 🙏.”

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Nowell officially stepped into Sublime as lead vocalist in 2023, carrying on the legacy of his father, who died in 1996. In a recent interview with VICE, Nowell reflected on what that role means to him. “My mother always played me Sublime’s music growing up,” he said. “When I was younger it was nice to have a little piece of [my dad] I could hear.”

He also spoke about finding his own place in the band. “Then truly coming into adulthood… I’ve been accepting my role in it,” he said. “None of it is separate — it’s all one big thing that I feel grateful to be a part of.”

On stage, Nowell tries to balance paying homage to his father’s vocal style while still allowing for his own creative input. “People are interested in hearing me sound as close to the original as possible… but I might sing the melodies with slightly different note choices just because I think it’s more interesting for me.”

Sublime’s set in Long Beach at Vans Warped Tour came shortly after the release of their new single ‘Ensenada’, marking the band’s first new material in years.