Billy McFarland announces Fyre Festival II
We're officially about to hit music festival season, and that means that we've had a lengthy list of heavyweights throw their hat into the ring with their 2023 event announcments. We never thought we'd see Fyre Festival on that list, but apparently 2023 is still full of surprises.
Co-founder Billy McFarland took to Twitter yesterday to officially announce Fyre Festival II, and he's already looking to start building up his celebrity guest list yet again.
🔥 Fyre Festival II is finally happening.
— Billy McFarland (@pyrtbilly) April 10, 2023
Tell me why you should be invited.
Obviously, nobody was buying the fact that the fraudster had completely changed his ways and actually planned to deliver on the luxury event he promised back in 2017. Users took to the comments to ask why they should trust him again and why he shouldn't still be in jail. He held nothing back and gave the most brutally honest response.
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.
— Billy McFarland (@pyrtbilly) April 11, 2023
and because i served my time.
He is right about one thing — those investors did lose out big time on their bet on the overzealous businessman. The first failed event saw investors lose out on over $26 million.Â
Investors may have been sent reeling by the failure, but it didn't even compare to the experience of the attendees who actually ventured out to the Bahamas for the event. Fyre Festival was billed as a luxury music festival for only the most elite of attendees — meaning those who could cough up the $500 ticket fee.
McFarland was committed to the high-end image of the event, having recorded advertisements with celebrities like Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski. He even paid Kendall Jenner $250,000 to post about it. He pulled out all the stops on the artist performances, having booked the likes of Blink-182, Pusha T, Migos, and Tyga. All of them pulled out before the event could even happen.
When attendees got to the Bahamas, it was far from the experience they'd be advertised. There was a tent shortage, and those who were lucky enough to get one were unlucky enough to have wet mattress placed on the floor and to have been given cheese on bread as one of their supposedly high-end meals.
The dinner that @fyrefestival promised us was catered by Steven Starr is literally bread, cheese, and salad with dressing. #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/I8d0UlSNbd
— Tr3vor (@TrevorDeHaas) April 28, 2017
McFarland seems hellbent on making history repeat itself. Perhaps Fyre Festival II will go swimmingly and will become the next Coachella, but if it fails all over again, then at least we might get a sequel to the infamous Netflix documentary. Only time will tell.
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