To borrow a lyric from TOOL’s Undertow classic “Swamp Song,” concert promoters Tyler Fey and James “Disco” Donnie Estopinal want to see heavy-music fans dancing — this time not in quicksand, but on the white sands of Punta Cana. It’s all going down at next month’s inaugural TOOL Live in the Sand festival, which will bring metal to the beaches of the Dominican Republic for a one-of-a-kind live-music experience.
Running March 7-9th, the festival is presented by Fey and Estopinal’s company, Festication and curated by TOOL — with a lineup featuring the alt-metal icons joined by Primus, Mastodon, Coheed and Cambria and more. It marks a unique turn for heavy music, blending live sets with a luxury, all-inclusive vacation experience full of fun activities and luxe amenities.
Guests will stay at the Hard Rock and Royalton Bavaro hotels, and outside of the music, day-to-night activities include anything from mini-golf and beer pong to catamaran trips and zipline adventures. You can sip mimosas during a metal-themed pool party. TOOL’s longtime creative collaborators, visionary artists Alex and Allyson Grey, will also be onsite with a very special installation. All told, music fans will be immersed in a heavy-music event like no other.
While TOOL Live in the Sand marks Fey and Estopinal’s first rock-and-metal destination festival, both promoters are seasoned pros, with a combined 75 years of experience.
Estopinal has been booking raves since the mid-Nineties and has staged fests all over the world. Fey, meanwhile, comes from rock-concert royalty — his late father, Barry Fey, was an industry icon who booked Hendrix, the Doors and more under his Feyline production company. Since Barry’s passing in 2013, his son has carried on the legacy, managing electronic acts and booking shows for over a decade.
Fey and Estopinal first teamed up as Festication in 2017, throwing similar destination events in the EDM market. Though they’ve held their Ember Shores and Paradise Blue events out in Cancun, Mexico, TOOL Live in the Sand likewise marks their first production in the Dominican Republic. And it looks like it’s going to be a banger.
Speaking with Revolver, the Festication team talk up their mutual love for TOOL, the fan-first experience of their destination festivals, what to pack for your beach adventure and more.
Disco Donnie (left) and Tyler Fey
You’re both more broadly known for booking these more DJ-and-electronic geared destination festivals. How did you end up moving towards the idea of TOOL Live in the Sand, which is being put on in a similar setting, but is focusing on bands within the heavy music realm.
TYLER FEY: It’s always been our goal to expand the destination event space. When we started, there weren’t really any electronic destination festivals, so we launched a Pretty Lights[-curated] destination festival in 2017. That was really the first electronic music destination festival to have ever happened.
We’ve carried on with ILLENIUM’s Ember Shores and Excision’s Paradise Blue events, which have become yearly staples that we’re very proud of, but we’ve been actively trying to expand into other genres as well. With TOOL and their team…it was the perfect scenario. We were able to come to a solid agreement on the event with them, and they were willing to take a leap and be the first of their genre to try it.
Why did you feel TOOL were the right band to anchor this kind of event around?
FEY: All destination events should be curated by an artist or band that has a rabid fanbase. So, we identified early on that TOOL was certainly one of those bands that could carry a festival like this.
DISCO DONNIE: I have a long history with TOOL!
The first time I saw them was in 1996. I was doing a rave at [New Orleans’ Palace Theatre]. I had The Crystal Method—the Vegas album had just come out, so they would’ve been the biggest EDM live act; I also had DJ Keoki. So, it was a big deal for me.
Then the venue came to me and said, “We’re going to do an early show with TOOL. They’re going to end at 10:00 pm. We’ll share the same sound system, they’ll load out, and at 10:30 your show starts.” I was a little kid, so I’m like, “Oh, that sounds ok…that’s not bad!”
So, the night rolls around, and I don’t know what time TOOL went on, but they weren’t getting off at 10:00, right? I think maybe by 11:00 they finished. It was definitely a stressful situation—you had 3000 ravers on Canal Street in New Orleans standing outside trying to get in, and then you had to load out 3000 TOOL fans.
I think we just let the TOOL fans stay in there. It wasn’t like we could clear the room. It’s kind of gone down in New Orleans lore…a lot of people got to see a free rave. But I almost had a heart attack and I got totally buffaloed by the venue and the promoter — that show was never ending at 10 p.m.
…when I see Maynard in the Dominican Republic, I’m going to ask him if he remembers that show.
TOOL’s music can be dark, brooding, nocturnal, progressive and weird. Aesthetically, how did you see that connecting to staging an outdoor show on the beach? What interested you most about that juxtaposition?
DISCO DONNIE: The whole juxtaposition of TOOL and their fans rocking out in a Jimmy Buffett-like setting on the beach… I think it’s going to be something that hasn’t really been done before. It’s basically going to be about the fan experience, and this is something that the TOOL Army has never been able to experience. And everything is better on a beach! Nobody can argue that point. It’s going to be a special environment.
Barry (left) and Tyler Fey
Tyler, your father began Feyline in the Sixties booking events like the Denver Pop Festival, while also working with artists like Jimi Hendrix, the Doors and more. Had Feyline ever been involved with TOOL way-back-when?
FEY: Don’t quote me on this, but I’m pretty sure we’ve done many TOOL shows. Dad started Feyline in 1967 and retired in ’98— he came back as a part of House of Blues in 2001. Any TOOL shows that happened in Denver…would’ve been Feyline up until ’98.
Have you ever seen them play live?
FEY: No, but I’ve always wanted to. I’ve heard amazing things. There were a couple of their shows at Ball Arena/Pepsi Center that I was supposed to go to, but I always ended up having to travel instead of going to the event. I’m very excited to see them.
Do you recall what your first show was, and whether your father had booked it?
FEY: I don’t recall it, but I can tell you exactly what it is, ’cause it’s been told to me many times and my dad definitely booked it. It was three days after I was born: Sting at Red Rocks, August 17th, 1991.
Do you have memories of meeting rock bands?
FEY: Oh, definitely. But we were taught the business and how to behave, so to speak. They were my dad’s business partners in a lot of ways. If your dad would have someone he worked with over for dinner, that’s kind of how it was always taken and handled. So, it wasn’t like, “Oh my God, Bono’s at our house!” It was more, “Dad’s friend is here!”
Obviously as I got older, I realized who some of these people were…a lot of the major stars that were very close friends of my father were just good genuine human beings that we enjoyed being around.
What are some of the best lessons your father imparted about the world of booking?
FEY: He never taught me how to write up an offer or make a show budget, or how to talk to an agent, because it was never intended for me to be in the business. But the best lesson that he [shared with] me many times over was that it’s all about the fans. It still says this on the Feyline website to this day: “There is only one VIP and that is the person who bought the ticket.”
That’s maybe subconsciously one of the reasons we’ve leaned so heavily into this destination event world, because we get to truly provide one of the highest level of experiences for a fan that could exist. That three-day getaway dream vacation with your favorite artist is really something special, and whether it’s my type of music or not, seeing fans leave a weekend with us at Festication and post on Facebook or Instagram that it was the best weekend of their lives…that’s what matters to us.
Tyler Church
Can you shed some light on the different activities that are available to fans at these destination festivals? This one’s got catamaran outings, there’s a zipline adventure… How important is it to add that extra layer of engagement?
FEY: It definitely completes the overall experience. As far as the excursions go, you don’t get [those] in any other festival setting. You can’t leave Coachella, go on a catamaran and then come back and see the sets you wanted to see. You can’t go jet skiing or horseback riding on the beach. [They’re] special things that I think help complete these weekends and make people leave and say, “Oh, that was the best weekend of my life.”
DISCO DONNIE: It’s just an extra layer to it. Some of the people want to do that; the other ones just want to hang out at the hotel and drink their drinks and eat their food. But basically, that’s an add-on. Some [vacationers] want to see the sights and get out of the hotel.
A number of your events have been held in Cancun, Mexico. How did you end up booking TOOL Live in the Sand in the Dominican Republic?
FEY: It was a decision we made between TOOL and the Festication team. There are also some time limitation restrictions on certain locales. For instance, you can’t do Cancun many months out of the year because of their turtle [nesting] season, and hurricane season as well. You have to avoid those.
DISCO DONNIE: I live in Puerto Rico, so I spend a lot of time in Dominican Republic. Sometimes the beach in Cancun can get eroded by storms. The one good thing about Dominican Republic is that they have a huge beach. I mean, it can’t be eroded. It’s almost the perfect place.
How did you go about booking the festival lineup with TOOL? Did they present a wish list of bands?
FEY: Well, they obviously had to approve all the other artists on the lineup, so they helped curate it with us. We made sure it was something that would be really special for TOOL. Having Primus – whom they’re very close friends with— worked out really well. Then we got Danny Carey to play drums with Primus, which will be amazing. Ultimately, [TOOL are] the co-creators, so everything – from branding and merchandise to the lineup – is really high-touch from them.
What were the biggest challenges booking this festival?
FEY: It was relatively smooth. No bands dropped out, [but] there are bands that we definitely have on our hit list for the next iteration that weren’t able to make it this time. A lot of people on social media wanted [Mike] Patton projects on there, and the Melvins. We certainly tried to make that happen, but sometimes…bands are busy, which is great. The industry’s thriving.
Tyler Church
We’re assuming you’re both working hard throughout the fest, but do you have time to enjoy any of the sets or activities? Will you be wandering the grounds?
FEY: I have yet to go on an excursion. That’s something that my dad instilled in me: it’s all about the work. You’re not there to enjoy yourself, you’re there to make sure that everyone that paid is there to enjoy themselves.For me, the elation and the enjoyment comes from that five minutes where I get to watch the crowd in front of the headlining set, just totally immersed in the experience we’ve created.
DISCO DONNIE: Honestly? I’ll be at the bar. [laughs]
Traveling far off to one of these destination festivals is a dream vacation for some people. Some people may find it a little more untenable to actually get there, though – maybe it’s the travel barriers, maybe it’s finance-related. How would you sell someone on the idea of heading to something like TOOL Live in the Sand if they’re on the fence about it?
FEY: This isn’t an experience that should be oversold to anyone. When a fan [finds out about the event], it [should be] an automatic, “I have to be there!” The goal of these is to really create something that’s undeniably great [for] a super fan. This is not for your casual, might-see-them-if-they’re-in-your-city fan; this is for the ultimate fan who buys all the merchandise and travels from city-to-city to see that group. Obviously, we want everyone to attend and have a great time, but like you said, it’s a high-dollar ticket. [Fans] need to really believe in needing to be there.
DISCO DONNIE: Just like anything in life, the front row seat is going to not be obtainable for everybody. We try to make it as reasonably priced as possible. Its just stuff is so expensive now. We’ve tried to keep the markup small and we want as many people to come as possible, and we want to do this again next year.
What are you most exited to experience at TOOL Live in the Sand?
DISCO DONNIE: I haven’t seen TOOL live since 1996 when I wanted them to get off the stage. [laughs] I mean, it was an amazing experience to see them for the first time. And I remember the balcony was moving and the place was a sweat box. It was November in New Orleans, but it was still 110 degrees in the venue. So, I’m just looking forward to seeing the show again. And this time I’m not going to be in ‘Hey, time to get off the stage”-mode.
Tyler, you mentioned that you’ve unfortunately had to miss out on TOOL shows in the past. Is there a song of theirs you’re looking forward to catching live in Punta Cana?
FEY: “Schism” is definitely up there. That’s something that has been in my head since childhood…since Guitar Hero came out. It’s a great song, so I’m definitely excited to see that. And also to see Danny Carey drum both with TOOL and Primus.
Last but not least — do you have your heavy-metal beachwear sorted out yet?
DISCO DONNIE: I usually pack 30 minutes before I leave, so I haven’t really thought about it. I mean, I’ll probably bring some silly outfits…stuff that makes you stand out a little more than the other people. And I’ll probably bring the normal bathing-suit-and-t-shirt stuff.
FEY: I do not. I often get made fun of [because] I don’t really have beachwear or sandals. I’ll be out there in my working attire.
This interview has been edited and condensed for flow and clarity.