Fyre Festival Grifter Billy McFarland Says A Sequel Is In The Works

Kelby Vera
Updated ·2 min read

Fyre Festival con man Billy McFarland is ready to entertain again.

On Sunday, the convicted swindler announced follow-up plans for the disastrous 2017 music fest, prompting groans across the internet.

“Fyre Festival II is finally happening,” the promoter tweeted with the requisite flame emoji. “Tell me why you should be invited.”

McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison in October 2018 following the original cursed event, which took place on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma. He served four years and was released in May 2022.

Though attendees were promised a luxury experience for the price of admission (with some elite tickets costing a reported $12,000 apiece), they arrived at an island full of flimsy tents and unappetizing sandwiches, but without the big-name performances they expected.

Billy McFarland attends a dinner in New York on March 6, 2014.
Billy McFarland attends a dinner in New York on March 6, 2014.

Billy McFarland attends a dinner in New York on March 6, 2014.

McFarland was fined $26 million for scamming investors in the fraudulent festival. Attendees, however, were left with little for their ordeal. In 2021, a New York court slashed ticket-holders’ proposed reimbursements down to roughly $280 each, drastically less than what a federal court had ordered months earlier.

Prior to this week’s announcement, McFarland had eschewed the idea of returning to entertainment. In a September interview with The New York Times, he said he had his eyes on the tech industry.

“The good thing with tech is that people are so forward-thinking, and they’re more apt at taking risk,” he told the Times. “If I worked in finance, I think it would be harder to get back.”

See some of the best tweets about Fyre Festival II below:

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