Fyre Festival II has no lineup, no location, and no actual date but mastermind Billy McFarland

Publish date: 2024-08-01

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Fyre Festival II is a go, according to the original event's founder Billy McFarland.
The original Fyre Festival was a disaster, and McFarland served several years in prison after.
The new festival doesn't have a finalized date or lineup, but is already selling tickets.

"What's up, guys? This is the big day, because, as of right now, Fyre Festival II tickets are officially on sale," founder Billy McFarland, now over a year out of prison as a result of the last Fyre Festival and wearing a fluffy white robe, announced in a video uploaded to his personal YouTube channel on Sunday.

It's been six years since the original Fyre Festival took place on the island of Great Exuma in the Bahamas. "Took place" is loose parlance — sure, people arrived in the Bahamas for a music festival. But they were greeted with disaster: The promised "luxury lodging" was actually tents, "gourmet food" was haphazard cheese sandwiches, and artists slated to perform simply weren't there.

The infamous event was chronicled in two warring documentaries: Netflix's "FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened" and Hulu's "Fyre Fraud." And McFarland himself was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges tied to the festival.

McFarland first announced his intent to engineer a second Fyre Festival in an April 9 post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Now, ticket sales have begun despite there being absolutely no details about what the event will entail — and McFarland claims his first batch of 100 tickets has already sold out.

Here's everything we know about Fyre Festival II — and be warned, it's not a lot.

When did Billy McFarland get out of prison?

McFarland was released from federal prison in March 2022 and transferred into "community confinement" in New York. He's since been on supervised release, Entertainment Weekly reported.

Previously, McFarland spent time in solitary confinement in 2020 and 2021 after participating in an interview on the podcast "Dumpster Fyre," his attorney told Insider. It was there, McFarland said, that he dreamed up his new venture.

"It really all started during this seven-month stint in solitary confinement," he said in the Fyre Festival II announcement video. "I wrote out this 50-page plan of how I would take this overall interest and demand in Fyre, and how I would take my ability to bring people from around the world together to make the impossible happen, but 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."

McFarland also said in an April X post, after announcing Fyre Festival II, that it was "in the best interest" of the people to whom he owes money for him to continue working.

"People aren't getting paid back if I sit on the couch and watch TV," he wrote in the post.

When and where is Fyre Festival II?

Vaguely in the Caribbean, and vaguely toward the end of 2024.

That's it. According to the festival's website, the location for the event is "The Caribbean," with a Google Maps link to the "Caribbean Sea."

The first Fyre Festival took place in The Bahamas. Netflix

But the festival likely won't be in the Bahamas again. The ministry of tourism told CBS News in a statement that the "government of The Bahamas will not endorse or approve any event associated with" McFarland, saying that he's "considered to be a fugitive" in the nation.

The website lists Friday, December 6, 2024, as the date of the festival, though in his announcement video, McFarland said that they were vaguely "targeting Fyre Festival II for the end of next year." Small type at the bottom of the fest's website acknowledges the festival's date is "subject to change."

How can you buy tickets to Fyre Festival II?

Tickets will be released in waves and at increasing price points, encouraging would-be festival-goers to get in early. The next 400 tickets, supposedly going on sale "soon," will cost $799, the subsequent 100 $1,199, the next 50 $1,799, and so on. The final listed ticket tier, "pre-sale last chance," will cost $7,999, according to the website.

However, there aren't any listed dates for when those batches of tickets will go live. The website also links to a wait-list form, which includes a callout not only for attendees, but also investors, performers, vendors, and workers, and asks, "Why you?"

According to the festival website and McFarland himself, the first wave of tickets has already sold out — but it's difficult, if not impossible, to verify that claim. At least a couple of people seem to have genuinely bought tickets, though: The Washington Post and CBS News both spoke to Victoria Medvedenko, who purchased tickets for her and her boyfriend at $549.89 each.

Medvedenko, a 20-year-old nursing student, told the Washington Post she wasn't very concerned about how the festival might turn out. "I'm sure I'll get my money back so I don't really see it as much of a loss either way."

Her boyfriend, Cooper Sinkiawic, told CBS News the couple's biggest worry was whether major acts would be willing to sign on to the festival. While they're "optimistic," he said, they're not ruling out the possibility of "some cheese sandwiches."

The iconic cheese sandwich photo from Fyre Festival that went viral. Netflix

McFarland announced in a statement Tuesday that all revenue from ticket sales would be held in escrow until the announcement of the final date — meaning that a third party will hold them until that condition is satisfied.

If you want, though, feel free to purchase Fyre Festival merch. They've got a "Dad Hat" for $40, a hoodie for $200, and sweatpants for $100 listed for sale. The images for these products appear to be mock-up designs and not manufactured products, so TBD on whether these actually exist.

What's the lineup for Fyre Festival II?

There isn't one yet. So, again: TBD!

As for other events, McFarland said in his announcement video that he was working with "one of the biggest and best TV companies in the world" to produce yet another documentary titled "After the Fyre." And that's not all: He also said he was working with "one of the biggest production companies" on a deal to produce "Fyre Festival: The Broadway Musical," which is admittedly much more intriguing than the prospect of another Fyre Festival itself.

According to McFarland, there will also be pop-ups and events "around the world" in the lead-up to the festival — at least four, per the festival site.

Now, only time will tell if everything manifests by the end of 2024 — but McFarland doesn't seem fazed.

"This is everything I've been working towards," he said in the video. "Let's fucking go."

An email address listed for inquiries on the Fyre Festival II website did not immediately respond to Insider's request for further information and comment. McFarland didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent via X.

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