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Sublime will bring concert to the sand during US Open of Surfing

A beachfront concert will once again be part of the World Surf League’s US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, with event organizers announcing Sublime will headline a performance on the first day of the mega event on Saturday, Aug. 3.

While small-scale acts have performed sporadically over the past decade, concerts were wiped from the sand scene following a 2013 free concert featuring Modest Mouse and other bands drew overwhelming crowds on the sand, spilling into the downtown area.

The following years saw organizers emphasizing a scaled-down, family friendly event for the US Open of Surfing, with security beefed up on the sand at what is considered the world’s largest action-sports festival. This year Lexus has signed on as the title sponsor.

World Surf League officials said Friday, May 28, the concert will be “an unforgettable sunset performance on the sand as part of SoCal’s biggest celebration of surf and summer.”

There will be limited ticket sales for the “intimate, one-night-only concert” on the Hurley stage at the Beach Bar. The performers include original band members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh alongside Jakob Nowell, son of the Sublime’s original frontman Bradley Nowell, who died in 1996 at the height of the band’s popularity.

Jakob Nowell made his big debut with the band at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.

The Long Beach reggae-punk-alternative rock band was founded in 1988, with its first self-produced album, 40 oz. to Freedom, released in 1992. It’s SUBLIME album, released just after Bradley Nowell’s death, sold more than 7 million copies, making it one of the most popular reggae-punk albums in history.

Big Wave World Champion Makua Rothman, who earned his title in 2015, will give a special opening performance.

While the World Surf League’s announcement didn’t specify the number of tickets to be sold, officials called it “extremely limited.”

The concert will start at 7 p.m. with Rothman, followed by Sublime’s performance from 8 to 9 p.m.

The Lexus US Open of Surfing runs nine days from Aug. 3 to 11. It is a World Surf League Challenger Series event – it also features a WSL Longboard Tour contest – that means big points for surfers looking to join the elite World Tour.

General sale tickets opens at 8 a.m. on June 30.

For more information, go to WorldSurfLeague.com and USOpenofSurfing.com.