How many times has some variation of the phrase "and then there was heroin" signified a bleak turning point in a narrative?

The SoCal hard-partying punk/ska trio Sublime was just at the point of catching the big music biz wave, to use a metaphor their surf-dude lifestyles might have suggested, when singer/guitarist/songwriter Bradley Nowell died of a heroin overdose in 1996. Yet, on the strength of sturdy party anthems like "Santeria," "What I Got" and "Wrong Way" — and a new frontman — Sublime has successfully continued a quarter century after Nowell's death.

As an even greater indication of the popularity of the music — and, yes, Nowell's tragic legend — the world's premiere Sublime tribute band, Badfish, ALSO has an incredibly successful career. See Badfish — NOT Sublime (let's be clear about this) — Saturday in a free show at the Mohegan Sun Wolf Den. Party on.

Badfish, 8 p.m. Saturday, Mohegan Sun Wolf Den; free; www.mohegansun.com.