Rome Ramirez is stepping into a new chapter of his career, and Cleveland fans will get an early glimpse of it when he brings his solo show to Globe Iron on September 24. Best known as the frontman of Sublime with Rome, Ramirez is now carving his own path with fresh energy and a renewed creative vision. Just days before the Cleveland performance, he’ll release his brand-new EP, ‘Gemini,’ out September 19, featuring the laid-back yet infectious single, “Slow & Easy,” a collaboration with Dirty Heads.
In a recent phone interview with CleveRock, Rome opens up about the excitement of taking his new music on tour, the thrill of connecting with audiences in more intimate venues, and how he’s putting together a setlist that balances fresh songs with fan favorites. He also shares his plans for a full-length solo album in 2026, reflects on the end of the Sublime with Rome era, and even reveals his favorite football team.
One thing is for certain: Rome is stoked to be returning to Northeast Ohio.
“Cleveland! It’s definitely a Rock ‘N’ Roll town. Let’s not get that Twisted,” Rome said. “Cleveland has rock, blues, and even punk rock. Cleveland is what’s up! I love that.“
Rome has been coming through the region’s most prominent venues, including co-headlining shows at Blossom Music Center and headlining gigs at Jacobs Pavilion. Hitting the road in support of ‘Gemini,’ it’s time to get up close and personal with fans in more intimate venues. He’s all about it!
“It’s awesome! It’s really necessary, too. When you’re building another world, you almost want to play these clubs, in place of climbing your way,” he said. “I mean, I know I’m not at the bottom. There are artists who are not even playing to this many, and I’m blessed to play, but from where I’m coming from, it’s definitely a couple of rings down on the ladder, and it’s imperative for me to kind of plug back into that again, and build this uniquely, and do it the right way. It is a departure from the sound that people know me from. Not a major departure, but definitely, I would say, just a progression of what you know me from, and that sort of thing takes a lot of personal care and attention. I’m just not one of those artists to kind of just say, ‘Here’s my new project, come see me in theaters!’ I like to do it the right way, and I like to shake hands with these people who the music is affecting. I want to hear these stories of how the music is affecting them, just as I did with Sublime with Rome, but this time on a much more intimate scale.“
The musician is excited to release new solo music and can’t wait for ‘Gemini’ to drop later this week.
“Oh man, I’m so pumped for that,” he confirmed. “I mean, I’ve been working on this music since the start of the pandemic, and just during that time, I really found my focus and my mission statement that I really wanted to set my flag on and start building. Since then, it has just been a process of writing them, and writing more, and picking the best ones, and recording them, and setting up the release. We’re finally getting to that point where the music is about to be put out, and the tour is at this point, as well. I’ve only been doing festivals, which is awesome in and of itself. I get to bring the sound to new people who wouldn’t otherwise have discovered me. But this will be the meeting of both those worlds, of just the headlining shows to my people, and bringing this music, and putting it out into the world at the same time. It’s been a long time coming, and I’m actually thrilled.“
Rome had the privilege of working with one of the best producers in the biz, Dann Huff. His resume stacks up with ANY producer currently working in studios. He has worked with legends including Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Keith Urban, and Barbra Streisand. The list of notable names is limited only by the article’s word count. How does Rome reflect on his time in the studio with Huff?
“Dann is just a freak in that way,” he said. “His ear is just a million-dollar ear. I mean, it’s spectacular. People ask me pretty often, especially here in Nashville, they’re like, ‘Man, what’s it like working with Dann?’ And the one thing that I always just kind of go to is just his attention to detail, and the way his brain works, is just genius. That’s pretty much what it is. I’ve gotten to work with so many talented people, and Dann’s ear and strength are just something so unique. And how we got connected was just by the grace of God. We have mutual friends, and he showed him my music. I don’t really make music that he’s really known for making out here in town, but he fell in love with the songs and wanted to meet me at lunch and just basically asked me if I’d be interested in doing a date with him in the studio to try out some of these songs with him and see how they go.”
“Of course, I was like, ‘Heck yeah, man! Pick the time and place, and I’m there,” Rome continued. “We did just that. We both had so much fun working together, and now I’m really blessed that he likes to work on music with me. I just write songs, and I don’t cook ’em up too much. I just kind of keep them in their infancy stage and get the writing and arrangement, and I send it over to Dann, and see what he thinks. And when we feel like we’ve got a good song on our hands, we go and record. It’s a beautiful system. I’m very blessed.”
His new single, “Slow & Easy,” is making a big splash on the FM radio charts. It’s his first single to drop from his solo efforts, and Rome is excited to see the early fruit of his labor.
” I just keep my nose to the grindstone and work on it, something I’ve done my whole life, and I can’t control anything after I hit ‘upload’ on Spotify. It’s pretty much up to the gods at that point,” Rome said.“It feels very validating to me, in the sense that working on music that I feel very passionately about and not getting too chipped up on where it’s going to place in the world, and how much money I can make, just making stuff that sounds good to me. And seeing that people are responding to that music and that feeling, and that message, and it just reassures me to keep doing it for the reasons I’m doing it.”
Dirty Heads are a damn good group and a near-perfect fit to collaborate with Rome. He says he loved working with that group, but when pressed for future dream collaborations:
“I would just be over the moon if I could do a song with Stevie Nicks. That would be so awesome,” he said (catching this interviewer off guard). “I grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac. That’d be great if I could play with Stevie Wonder at some point, not even do a song. Heck, I’d be happy just playing at his party or something. But yeah, something like that. My big inspirations are too contemporary. They’re a little more from the classic side, but in terms of someone modern, I’d love to do a song with either Leon Bridges or even Charlie Crockett, who I think are fantastic.”
After 15 years fronting Sublime with Rome, the time came to pass the torch. Jakob Nowell, son of the band’s former frontman, Bradley Nowell (who tragically passed in 1996 at the peak of the band’s success), is now ready to take the reins and lead the group into a new era. It was a great run with Rome at the helm. For a decade and a half, he did justice to the band’s legacy by lending his voice with his own twist, while maintaining the spirit of the group. As for Rome’s thoughts on the timing of the change in guard?
“This is something that’s been in the works for a long time. I think it was a matter of timing, and I could speak from being one of the individuals involved in it, that our timelines didn’t exactly line up, and they wanted to move in a different direction at a different time,” he explained. “And I think that’s great, because Sublime’s essence, in my opinion, is that the music belongs to the people. It’s so much bigger than ourselves. I’ve always said that, both in public and in private, to people. I’ve always felt like a servant to the greater legacy of what Sublime is. And I think that’ll continue on for decades to come; generations to come. I think it’s great that now Jakob is fulfilling his dad’s destiny and showing it to a whole new generation of people. And it’s cool, man. It’s a good thing. I think Brad’s up in heaven, smiling.
After staying on the road right up until the holiday season, Rome has a busy 2026 coming up. An LP release and a cryptic hint about a big tour happening next summer.
“The full-length is already recorded,” he revealed. “We’re just releasing this first half here in September, and then I plan to complete the full-length album and release it sometime at the top of next year, in the first quarter. God forbid, I don’t write any more songs and keep adding to it, but it’s kind of my problem. The plan is to release the full album by the first quarter of the year and create some truly awesome experiences with this music, doing things a little outside the box. I want to push limits and try new things. I’m putting together something really special for the summer of 2026 that’s really taking a lot of the focus right now, so I’m excited to get that going and just roll out all this music and all these videos I’ve been making and just build this world, and have some more fun.“
Wrapping up the chat, Rome was asked if there was anything that had been missed or that he wanted to discuss during the interview. He reminded me that I had forgotten to ask him about his favorite football team. (Whoops!)
“No, no, man. You’ll never guess in a million years. I’m a Chicago Bears fan. It’s not too much fun saying it,” he said with a laugh.
It could be worse, Rome. You could be a Browns fan. (The two presently-winless teams who will square off on December 14.)
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