The Tool Live in the Sand destination festival took place Friday through Sunday in the Dominican Republic. In addition to two headlining sets from Maynard James Keenan and company, the event featured the live debut of Primus‘ new drummer, John Hoffman.
Hoffman joined Primus in February after the “My Name Is Mud” outfit embarked on an extensive audition process to replace longtime member Tim “Herb” Alexander, who announced his departure from the band in October. Primus had originally announced that Tool’s Danny Carey would man the kit for their set, but surprised fans by having both Carey and Hoffman play drums throughout the show.
Primus wasn’t the only band to feature an updated lineup at Live in the Sand. Mastodon was joined by guitarist Ben Eller, who stepped in for departing guitarist and founding member Brent Hinds. The “Blood and Thunder” metallers announced Friday that they had “mutually decided to part ways” with Hinds.
Mastodon hasn’t officially announced Eller as a new member, but they shared footage of them performing with him on their Instagram Story.
As for Tool’s sets, the headlines aren’t overwhelmingly positive. Some attendees felt that the band’s sets were too short and lacked variety, and were upset that the second performance repeated several songs from the first night. Footage posted to the Tool subreddit even shows fans booing the band.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
