Billy McFarland has declared that Fyre Festival II, the follow-up to his fraudulent 2017 Bahamas-based event, is “finally happening,” though it’s unclear how long the controversial co-founder will leave potential concertgoers stranded without firm details.
McFarland made the announcement on Sunday evening, tweeting: “🔥 Fyre Festival II is finally happening. Tell me why you should be invited.” In the comments, he vetted applicants and looped in one of the inaugural event’s producers, Andy King — best known as the “Fyre Fest Blowjob Guy” from the 2019 Netflix documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened. King quote-tweeted McFarland’s initial announcement, saying “Who’s in?? Let’s go 💦💦” and later fielded a customs question by replying “#WhateverItTakes 💦💦.”
Meanwhile, tech entrepreneur Chris Bakke posted a screenshot of an alleged DM with McFarland that began with the fraudster asking, “Want to come to Fyre Fest II?” McFarland jumped in the replies to add even more bizarre plans for the festival’s future, claiming they were “going to crush the island version first” before tagging Elon Musk to say that “Fyre 3 definitely needs to be in space.”
Update: In an interview with CNN, McFarland said his tweet was “just to really test the waters and see is there still appetite for this idea after six years. It’s already been six years. And the response has been insane.” He further clarified, “There is no Fyre Festival II on the books at this point. We are literally just like testing the interest in the concept. And I think the whole world saw how wild that went with one tweet and the response has been great.”
“I think the first time around I just didn’t understand the magnitude of the vision and probably, more importantly, the magnitude of the logistics that were required to execute that. And I need to go about it completely differently this time around,” McFarland told. As such, this time he plans to focus solely on “marketing” the event. while allowing “my great team and my great partners to handle everything else.”
Although McFarland was released from prison in May 2022 after serving four years of his six-year sentence, he has openly divulged his strategy for paying back the $26 million he still owes in restitution. He suggested that the Fyre Fest follow-up would serve as a means to manage the debt when he responded to one commenter that it was “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.”
The new island event would be just one potential revenue stream to go along with his “tech-based” ventures, a treasure hunt business endeavor, and an apparently rigorous filming schedule.
Bill McFarland says he is committed to staging Fyre Fest 2 after seeing the Internet's "insane" response to the news. https://t.co/TYvdvJMdoK pic.twitter.com/bRacCZ8IS3
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) April 18, 2023
🔥 Fyre Festival II is finally happening.
Tell me why you should be invited.
— Billy McFarland (@pyrtbilly) April 10, 2023
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.
— Billy McFarland (@pyrtbilly) April 11, 2023
going to crush the island version first, but @elonmusk Fyre 3 definitely needs to be in space
— Billy McFarland (@pyrtbilly) April 10, 2023
FYRE Festival 2.0 🔥
Who’s in??
Let’s go 💦💦 https://t.co/qKqYrIkXsj
— Andy King (@RealAndyKing) April 10, 2023
— Andy King (@RealAndyKing) April 10, 2023
I owe people $26m
Here's how I'm going to pay it back:
I spend half my time filming TV shows.
The other half, I focus on what I'm really, really good at.
I'm the best at coming up with wild creative, getting talent together, and delivering the moment.
Txt me: 929 325 1957
— Billy McFarland (@pyrtbilly) March 26, 2023
