Fyre Fest was a massive failure, but the guy behind the fraudulent festival, Billy McFarland, is aiming for a do-over with Fyre Fest II, and pre-sale tickets are already going as high as $1 million.
What could go wrong this time?
The original Fyre Fest, a joint venture with rapper Ja Rule, was scheduled for April 2017 on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma.
However, the promised luxe experience was a total disaster when its inaugural guests, who paid hundreds—some as much as thousands—of dollars, arrived to find the exotic locale was a construction site with tents and mattresses instead of fancy villas, and boxed lunches instead of gourmet meals.
After issues tied to security, luggage handling, booked bands, and medical services, the botched event was postponed on the spot and ultimately canceled.
McFarland was subsequently sentenced to six years in prison for financial crimes tied to the music festival, in which he defrauded investors of $27.4 million. He was released after less than four years in March 2022.
But now he's already gearing up for another shot with Fyre 2.0, a "three-day escape to the Mexican Caribbean."
Potential eventgoers may take comfort in knowing McFarland won't be as involved this time around.
According to the release statement, live events producer Longnights will be “crafting extraordinary, one-of-a-kind experiences” and multiple ticketing companies will create the 'hospitality packages.' ”
@pyrtbilly/X
The internet, however, is content with stopping at "Fool me once."
McFarland stopped by the Today Show and explained that he "might have" artists from various music genres, professional skateboarders, and an MMA champion teaching techniques.
When host Savannah Sellers asked if any of those guest artists were "sure haves" and if they were booked, McFarland demurred:
"So, what I think makes Fyre so cool is that we are selling the experience of Fyre."
"I wanna be one of the first festivals that can sell out with no artists."
When Sellers asked again whether or not the artists were booked, McFarland said Fyre was going to announce the artists over the next few months, meaning, no artists were officially booked at this time.
"I'm not in charge of booking the talent," he said.
No bands officially booked was the first red flag.
Users said "nope" to the idea of attending.
@todayshow/Instagram
@todayshow/Instagram
@todayshow/Instagram
@todayshow/Instagram
@todayshow/Instagram
@todayshow/Instagram
@todayshow/Instagram
McFarland acknowledged his failures with the first Fyre on Australia's The Project and explained that he was planning for Fyre II "to pay everybody back for the wrongs that I've caused for Fyre I, but it's also about bringing this vision of Fyre II to life."
When asked if there were any music artists "locked in," he claimed he had two already booked but wasn't allowed to reveal the names of those artists at this time.
Mmmkay.
If anyone is planning on going to Fyre II, we'd love to hear all about it from the comfort of our homes.
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X