FYRE II is shaping up to be another disaster
The first FYRE Festival was such a fiasco that its promoter went to jail and two documentaries were made on it. But now that he’s out of jail, Billy McFarland wants everyone to buy tickets to FYRE II. Tickets start at around US$1,400 and go up to US$1.1 million. No, that’s not a typo.
“FYRE II is real,” McFarland said on NBC’s Today Show. Really?
Where is it? Isla Mujeres, an island off the coast of Cancun. Local officials say they know nothing about it. No one has talked to them. The Guardian asked for information from people on the island. “We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or company about it…The organisers didn’t even bother to approach the authorities. It’s very strange, because any manager knows that if you’re going to hold an event, let alone a massive event, you need municipal authorisation. I think they thought they would just announce it and see if it got traction, then ask for the permits halfway down the path.”
How will it be staged? Unclear.
How many people are expected? Unclear. I’ve heard less than 3,000 but I can’t confirm that.
Who’s performing? He won’t say. “We’re going to have artists across electronic, hip hop, pop and rock. However, it’s not just music. We might have a professional skateboarder do a demonstration. We might have an MMA champion teach you techniques in the morning. I think it’s always a risk. You’re taking a risk because I made a lot of bad decisions and messed up the first festival. Until it’s experienced, there is a risk component to it,” he said.
Pretty vague, dude. And a risk?
Will this one be successful? I quote McFarland again: “I think it’s always a risk. You’re taking a risk because I made a lot of bad decisions and messed up the first festival. Until it’s experienced, there is a risk component to it.”
But hang on. There’s plenty of time yet, right? Uh, no. It’s scheduled for May 30 to June 2. That’s 91 days from right now.
This is nothing more than an event for stupid rich people. This is going to make a great future episode of my podcast Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry.
More at The Guardian.
