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Do you remember Fyre Festival — the music event famous for its fraudulent promotion and complete lack of music? Were you really jealous of its attendees stranded in the Bahamas, where they had to sleep in flooded tents and subsist on plain cheese sandwiches?
If so, you’re in luck! Three years after founder Billy McFarland’s release from federal prison and eight years after the disastrous weekend, Fyre Festival is back.
Fyre Festival II is scheduled to run from May 30 to June 2, on Isla Mujeres, in Mexico. Aspiring attendees can purchase tickets to Fyre Festival II for prices ranging from $1,400 for the general access Ignite pass, to all the way up to $1,100,000 for the Prometheus Pass.
“The origin of the Prometheus Pass is shrouded in secrecy,” the Fyre Festival website reads. “This pass is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for the casual attendee. It is for those who seek to rise above, who don’t just want to witness history but aspire to shape it.”
The entire weekend is, in fact, shrouded in secrecy because Fyre Festival has yet to announce any artists performing at the event. During a Today Show interview, McFarland told Savannah Sellers that there would be musicians spanning electronica, hip hop, pop, and rock.
“However, it’s not just music,” McFarland added. “We might have a professional skateboarder do a demonstration. We might have an MMA champion teach you techniques in the morning.”
When Sellers pressed him on his usage of the word “might” and asked if there were any confirmed acts, McFarland side-stepped the question.
“What makes Fyre so cool is that we are selling the experience of Fyre. I want to be one of the first festivals that can sell out with no artists,” he said. McFarland added that he was not in charge of booking the talent but that he “really hopes” there would be A-Listers performing.
McFarland, who might not be able to attend the festival due to travel restrictions associated with his felony convictions, added that there’s an inherent “risk” to attending Fyre II.
Following the disastrous original festival, McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to six years in prison and $26 million in restitution. He was released after fewer than four years and pledged to put at least $500,000 of the profits from Fyre II towards the remaining restitution for his victims.
But “Fyre II really isn’t about the past and it isn’t about me,” he told Sellers. “It’s about taking the vision, which is strong.”