The State Theatre

Badfish is a vibe. Badfish is a sonic house party complete with plenty of gyrating fans sipping libations and enjoying various extracurricular activities. Badfish is feel-good music.

For almost 25 years, the Rhode Island-based band – Joel Hanks on bass, Scott Begin on drums, Pat Downes on vocals and guitar, Danny Torgersen on horns, keyboards, and guitars – have successfully paid tribute to Sublime, the influential California group that brought ska-punk and reggae-rock to the mainstream. Badfish’s heartfelt celebration of Sublime’s musical spirit and legacy is so sought-after that they’ve headlined theaters, sold out shows, and played 15-20 gigs a month.

But now, Badfish is more. After two decades of Sublime reverence, Badfish originality is stomping into high gear. Badfish recently released its second new song, the anthemic, groove-fortified “F You Pay Me,” with special guest Grieves, as the follow-up to the band’s first single, “High With You.” Now the Sublime repertoire is nicely augmented by fresh original tracks that blend seamlessly together.