Primus will cap off a landmark year with a two-night New Year’s Eve run at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA, December 30th and 31st. The hometown celebration will feature two completely unique sets each night, marking the band’s first NYE shows with drummer John Hoffman, whose addition to the trio has sparked a momentous new chapter in the band’s legacy.
December 30th will feature an “Evening With Primus,” offering an extended, unfiltered night of music from the band. On December 31st, they’ll be joined by the inimitable Puddles Pity Party to help ring in the new year.
VIP, Artist and Promoter Presales launch Thursday, August 21st at 10am PT, followed by the Public On-sale this Friday, August 22nd at 10am PT via primusville.com. A limited number of LUCKY BASTARD VIP PACKAGES will also be available, including one GA ticket to the Fox Theater, early venue entry, access to a pre-show Q&A session with Primus, a screen-printed limited-edition NYE poster signed by the band, crowd-free merchandise shopping, and a dedicated onsite event host.
The New Year’s Eve run closes out one of the most creatively vital years in Primus history – and one that has been defined by the arrival of Hoffman, who earned his seat on the Primus drum throne after rising above more than 6,200 applicants in the band’s Interstellar Drum Derby. His journey, chronicled in the band’s YouTube series and widely covered in outlets like Stereogum, Modern Drummer, and SPIN, has made waves across the Primusverse and beyond.
“This fiery, cheerful, octopus-like drummer from Shreveport, Louisiana has breathed a very potent breath of freshness into this band we all call PRIMUS,” Les Claypool said earlier this year. Stereogum praised Hoffman’s "weightless bustle of high-velocity flurries, Meters-y swamp-pocket, and cartoonish cymbal clutches," while SPIN called him a "potent breath of freshness" and Modern Drummer devoted a full cover feature to his debut tour.
Since joining the band, Hoffman has played a full national tour with A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, released his first studio single with Primus (“Little Lord Fentanyl” feat. Maynard James Keenan), appeared in a new live recording of “Duchess (And the Proverbial Mind Spread)," and just wrapped the Onward & Upward tour – his first full headline run with the band. Along the way, the trio dove deeper into their catalog than ever before, including a rare seven-song tribute to the Brown Album at Red Rocks, rebranded for the night as “Brown Rocks.”
The Oakland NYE shows mark the culmination of Hoffman’s remarkable first year behind the Primus kit – a year defined by whirlwind tours, new recordings, and deep dives into the band’s storied catalog. Reflecting on the experience, Hoffman shared: “I repeat to myself two lines of advice given by some friends along the way: ‘You are here for a reason. Just be John.’”
With the band firing on all cylinders and a year of renewed energy behind them, the Oakland NYE shows promise to be both a hometown homecoming and a fitting exclamation point on a pivotal chapter for Primus – offering fans an up-close celebration of where they’ve been, and a first glimpse at where they’re headed.
