In case you missed the disastrous experience the first time, it’s clear people still want to see what Fyre Fest was like — as Billy McFarland’s 2.0 return of the event allegedly sold-out of the pre-sale tickets almost instantly.
There’s still no lineup or no clear details about what Fyre Fest 2.0 will hold, but the “First 100” of the passes opened up to the public for $499, according to a new interview he did with TMZ.
“They sold out very very quickly,” he said.
For those who don’t remember, McFarland was recently released from prison after the failings of the fest’s first run. He also had to pay millions back to investors, after the original festival went horribly wrong. There were even viral scenes of those attending struggling on the island, which sparked a few documentaries.
This time, he has promised that it will take place somewhere in the Caribbean at the end of 2024. The rest of the Fyre Fest 2.0 tickets, if anyone was sad they didn’t get them the first time, will go back on sale at a later date. However, some of the higher ticket tiers reportedly reach above $7000.
McFarland has also teased that he has plans for a Broadway musical as well, so the general public should probably take his ideas as far-fetched by now.
So, if you feel like getting stranded at a festival with no performers and limited supplies just for a viral moment, definitely keep an eye out for the next Fyre Fest 2.0 ticket drop.
For most of 2023, Beyonce and Taylor Swift were the most in-demand music tickets, but now apparently the hottest event to get tickets to is….Fyre Fest? Yes, you read that correctly. Fyre Fest 2 is not only happening, but the initial drop of tickets have already sold out in under two days.
Despite the fact that Fyre Fest 2 did not have an artist lineup, location, or even an exact date yet, 100 presale tickets went up for sale on August 21 for $499 apiece ($549.89 after taxes and fees). Tickets will be offered in waves with prices continuing to increase incrementally, ultimately culminating in the final round of tickets, which will go for $7,999 apiece. (No word on what accommodations and benefits will accompany those tickets.)
The website was updated on Wednesday to state that the event start date would be Friday, December 6, 2024 in the Caribbean. (No exact location was announced.)
Billy McFarland (the original Fyre Fest organizer) posted a video to Instagram on Monday to talk about the ticket drop with the caption “FYRE Festival 2 Pre-Sale is LIVE in bio.”
Wearing a white robe and Airpods, McFarland (who completed an four year stint for wire fraud in 2022), spoke to followers, saying:
Billy McFarland IG
What’s up guys? This is a big day because as of right now Fyre Festival 2 tickets are officially on sale. It has been the absolute wildest journey to get here and it really all started during the seventh month stint in solitary confinement. I wrote out this 50-page plan of how it would take this overall interest and demand in Fyre and how it would take my ability to bring people from around the world together together to make the impossible happen, but how it would find the best partners in the world to allow me to be me while executing Fyre’s vision to the highest level. In my first year, I partnered with one of the biggest and best TV companies in the world to produce a documentary called “After the Fyre.” I’ve also worked with one of the biggest production companies to sign a deal to produce Fyre Festival, the Broadway musical and finally today we are announcing Fyre Festival 2. I spoke to people as far away as the Middle East and South America and ultimately we decided that Fyre Festival 2 will come back to the Caribbean. We are targeting Fyre Festival 2 for the next year. In the meantime, we will be doing pop-ups and events across the world. Guys, this is your chance to get in. This is everything I’ve been working for. Let’s f***ing go.
The original Fyre Festival, which took place back in 2017, was billed as a luxurious “cultural experience of the decade.” However, attendees (who paid between $1,200 to upwards of $100,000 per ticket) found themselves stranded with minimal food and shelter on the Bahamian island of Exuma. Headliners such as Blink-182, Migos, Tyga, Desiigner,Lil Yachty, and more pulled out of performing at the last minute and the event never took place, ultimately leading to the federal wire fraud charges against McFarland.
As noted by Stereogum, McFarland made the announcement on his TikTok, where he’s been promoting his efforts to get Fyre Fest 2 off the ground, despite not apparently having any acts, a venue, or event the credibility to launch an event after spending four years in prison on wire fraud charges.
It has been the absolute wildest journey to get here, and it really all started during the seven-month stint in solitary confinement. I wrote out this 50-page plan of how it would take this overall interest and demand in Fyre, and how it would take my ability to bring people from around the world together and make the impossible happen, how I would find the best partners in the world to allow me to be me while executing Fyre’s vision to the highest level… In the meantime, we’ll be doing pop-ups and events across the world. Guys, this is your chance to get in. This is everything I’ve been working towards. Let’s f*cking go.
Honestly, you sort of have to be impressed. McFarland is basically single-handedly responsible for sparking an entire genre that has become streamers’ bread-and-butter — the “true life” biopic of a charismatic scammer, a la Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos or
Adam Neumann of WeWork — and yet, here he is, fresh out of prison and doing it all over again. That’s moxie.
Billy McFarland was convicted and jailed for fraud after the Fyre Festival debacle in 2017. The situation became quite the meme and provided months of entertainment for onlookers. However, it was likely a traumatic experience for those that attended. The pictures from the disaster were both hilarious and sad, featuring dilapidated campsites and horrific living conditions. However, four years in federal prison weren’t enough to make McFarland give up on the dream. Today, he made two big Fyre Festival announcements on his social media.
Firstly, he revealed plans for a Broadway musical titled FYRE Festival 1.5. The target audience for said musical is unclear. Additionally, he mentioned discussions with partners to repay his restitution and organize a second edition of FYRE Festival. He plans to adhere to the original vision of a destination festival in a picturesque location. McFarland expressed his intention to address unpaid debts to local vendors in the Bahamas promptly. He also emphasized the involvement of experienced music partners to handle logistics such as toilets, bathrooms, and food. So, at least this time around, anyone stranded will at least be able to eat and use the bathroom.
In an interview with YouTuber Adam Glyn, McFarland further explained his vision for the upcoming Fyre projects. He told the YouTuber that he was prioritizing the immediate payment of owed money to Bahamian vendors. The 2017 Fyre Festival was initially marketed as a luxurious music festival. However, it infamously spiraled into chaos due to numerous issues. The event was marred by travel delays, lost luggage, insufficient food, and substandard living conditions. Attendees were rightfully dismayed at the state of things. While it became popular to laugh at the situation, it really was a scam of epic proportions. That is likely why Ja Rule, who was involved with the first iteration, has distanced himself from the project.
The FYRE Festival has already been extensively documented through documentaries released by Netflix and Hulu. McFarland had also announced plans to write a book about the event while in prison. Its release is still unannounced. In 2018, McFarland pled guilty to defrauding investors of more than $27 million. He served a four-year prison sentence before being released in 2022. Hopefully, the same will not happen with Fyre Festival 2.
Billy McFarland, who found himself fresh out of prison last year following his disastrous Fyre Festival scam, has teased that he has a bunch of new projects in the works.
Over the past few months, he’s promoted everything from a scavenger hunt for a brand new music festival to doing a 2.0 iteration of the one that went horribly wrong. He’s even thrown out wanting to box Ja Rule for money.
Now, McFarland’s next potential venture is a completely new frontier and possibly, the most far-fetched one so far: Broadway.
That’s right. He’s planning to take over Times Square with a potential musical centered around Fyre Fest’s story, according to a new TikTok appearance. He broke the news through his own video and another interview.
“Instead of like traditional Broadway actors, it’s going to be current music artists, combined with the Broadway format of the play — making fun of me, but also I think sharing some of the good sides as well,” McFarland said.
He also revealed that financial supporters are helping him pay off the first Fyre Fest — and that some unnamed musicians are still interested in coming back to play on a different island. (The 2.0 version will not be held in the Bahamas.)
”The reaction for getting artists has been so extreme,” McFarland added. “Really, like half of them are like, f*ck off, how dare you can call us. And they’re half — like, literally after I tweeted that Fyre Fest 2.0 is happening, they’ve been texting, emailing, saying, ‘Hey, like what can we do to come.’”
Because of this, it also could lead to some interesting musical numbers like “How Can You Fix The Water Problem?” and “Hadid-n’t Go So Well.” Maybe even some appearances from the musicians who were also on the original lineup could happen as well.
Twitter exploded when the infamous Billy McFarland announced Fyre Festival 2. McFarland recently tweeted he is working on a second iteration of the first disastrous event. The failed business mogul was at the center of a scandal in 2017. He promised a luxury music festival on Pablo Escobar’s rumored former private island in the Bahamas but had to relocate to Great Exuma island within weeks of the festival.
It was slated for the weekends of April 28-30 and May 5-7 of that year. Unfortunately, it was a notorious disaster due to many issues. McFarland announced the sequel to the catastrophe—less in the style of a teaser and more in the form of an outright guarantee. Can he really pull it off with such a massive failure under his belt?
Fyre Fest Controversy
McFarland, rapper Ja Rule, and promoters advertised Fyre Festival as a luxurious music event on Norman’s Cay in The Bahamas. Prominent social media influencers like Kendall Jenner and supermodels Hailey Baldwin and Bella Hadid endorsed the festival. Organizers promised high-end accommodations, extravagant meals, and performances by popular artists like Blink-182 and Migos. Promoters advertised it as an “immersive music festival.” However, upon arrival, chaos met excited festival-goers, and they quickly realized their promised music fantasy was closer to a tragedy.
How Bad Was It?
Music fans eagerly paid upwards of $1,595 for tickets to Fyre Fest. However, when they arrived on the island, attendees quickly discovered that accommodations were far from what the promoters pledged. Instead of the deluxe large private cabanas on the beach for housing, guests slept in dome-shaped flimsy half-built tents that resembled FEMA shelters.
Unfortunately, the sleeping arrangements were the least of the worries for the festival goers. All the drinking water did not clear customs, so hydration was in very short supply. There was a minimal supply of toilets, which were unusable after a few hours. Once the disaster hit social media, most headlining bands dropped out or confirmed they had never finalized agreements to perform. The lack of necessities and security caused overwhelming chaos and confusion. Additionally, many guests became trapped on the island as airlines canceled several flights back to the States.
McFarland’s Incarceration
April was stronger for restitution. I paid $8,584.53 this month, bringing the totals since my 8/30 release to:
-Restitution – $38,482 -Bahamas – $2,273
I will be posting monthly updates until everyone is paid.
After the unbelievable ghastly calamity, co-founder Billy McFarland faced a myriad of lawsuits. The charges ranged from defrauding investors, overstating financial information, and wire fraud. On October 11, 2018, the judge sentenced him to six years in prison. He only ended up serving four years.
While incarcerated, McFarland apologized for his actions and expressed his regrets. However, he continued profiting from the debacle with his podcast Dumpster Fyre. Co-founder Ja Rule did not receive any charges but faced numerous lawsuits. The courts released McFarland from prison in 2022 and fined him $26 million. He vowed to find a way to repay the investors he owed.
Despite the disastrous outcome of the original festival in 2017, Billy McFarland has announced plans for a sequel event. In a recent tweet posted on Sunday, April 9, McFarland declared, “Fyre Festival II is finally happening. Tell me why you should be invited.” Many Twitter users expressed criticism, disbelief, and outrage at the idea. One user even responded, “Tell me why you shouldn’t be in jail.” McFarland tweeted back, “It’s in the best interest of those I owe for me to be working. People aren’t getting paid back if I sit on the couch and watch tv. and because I served my time.”
McFarland also reportedly contacted 50 Cent via Twitter the first week of April. He tweeted, “Hey @50cent wanna chat?” hoping to secure him as a headliner. The response from 50 Cent remains unknown. Details are scant past that, with a timeline for the festival and whether or not any musical guests are interested in attaching their names to it currently unclear.
Disputes With The Bahamas
It’s worth noting that this announcement comes on the heels of another McFarland apology. He apologized for a recent treasure-hunting scheme in the Bahamas named PYRT. McFarland stated, “I was completely wrong, and I wholly regret my actions.” Given the disastrous outcome of the first Fyre Festival, many are skeptical about the success of this event. Some wonder if Billy Mcfarland has learned his lesson from the first Fyre Festival thrashing. Additionally, there are concerns about whether Mcfarland will prioritize the safety and comfort of attendees over profit. Only time will tell if his promises will materialize into a successful event or if it will become another cautionary tale for event organizers.
Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland has been back in the public eye recently. McFarland, who was released from prison last year, let attendees down with his failed festival, but he also left local workers hanging, who didn’t get the payment they deserved for their contributions to the event. Now, though, McFarland is cooking up a plan to get them their money, and it involves getting in the boxing ring with Ja Rule.
On the April 28 episode of the Off The Record podcast, McFarland chats with host DJ Akademiks. At one point during the conversation, McFarland took a FaceTime call with an associate, who spoke about a potential boxing match between McFarland and Ja Rule. Somebody is apparently willing to pay $350,000 to make a “15-minute” fight between the two happen, which McFarland said would “get every worker in the Bahamas paid back in full,” with neither McFarland or Ja Rule receiving any payment themselves.
As for how that bout would go, McFarland said, “He’ll probably beat me, like 80-percent chance he wins, and that’s fine.”
McFarland, meanwhile, is working on launching another music festival. He explained, “It’s in the best interest of those I owe for me to be working. People aren’t getting paid back if I sit on the couch and watch tv.”
Check out the podcast clip above and listen to the full Off The Record episode here.
The Fyre Festival was supposed to be a luxury music festival, organized by entrepreneur Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule. They scheduled the festival to take place in the Bahamas in April and May 2017. Many high-profile celebrities heavily promoted the festival on social media, promising an unforgettable experience on an exclusive island. However, when the festival-goers arrived at the island, they discovered that the reality was far from what had been advertised.The festival was a complete disaster. There was little to no infrastructure, lack of proper accommodations, inadequate food, and no musical acts. The festival-goers were left stranded on the island with no way to leave, as there were not enough flights to transport everyone back to the mainland. The incident sparked outrage and a flurry of negative media attention. In the end, it led to lawsuits against both McFarland and Ja Rule.
After the disaster of the first Fyre Festival, McFarland and Ja Rule announced a second Fyre Festival, which they promised would be bigger and better. However, this event was also cancelled due to the negative publicity and legal issues surrounding the first festival. McFarland was later arrested and charged with multiple counts of fraud, money laundering, and wire fraud related to the Fyre Festival. In 2018, he pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to six years in federal prison. The Fyre Festival has since become an infamous example of how not to organize a music festival, and a cautionary tale for those who want to start a new business venture. Billy McFarland seems not to have learned his lesson, though.
Recently, Billy McFarland took to Twitter to announce that Fyre Festival II was indeed happening. Though he has already spent time in prison for the first iteration and still owes millions upon millions, he persists. If nothing else, you have to give him credit for his resilience. Now, in effort to pay back the employees in the Bahamas who still have not been paid, McFarland wants Ja Rule to take part in a fight.
Allegedly, someone is willing to pay $350,000 to watch Ja Rule and McFarland duke it out for 15 minutes. If they do it, all of the unpaid people that were employed in the first Fyre Festival will get paid. Whether or not Ja Rule is even willing to entertain this idea remains to be seen. Something tells us he won’t be into it, as he has already denied any involvement with Fyre Festival II. What do you think about the plan to repay the employees? Let us know in the comments!
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