Fyre Festival Creator Billy McFarland Is Expecting A-List Performers for Fyre Festival 2

Normally we love a good redemption arc, but when it comes to Billy McFarland, does the world really need a sequel? In 2016, the entrepreneur founded the Fyre Festival alongside rapper Ja Rule. It was named after the music talent booking app that McFarland developed, which would be promoted at the festival. In April 2017, the Fyre Festival was born and died just as quickly.

Stories of the failed festival went viral thanks to the numerous influencers who showed up after being promised luxury and a good time. What they got was cheese sandwiches, tents instead of villas, and stranded. In March 2018 McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and admitted to scamming investors out of $28 million. He was sentenced to six years in prison and has since been released. The interesting news is, Fyre Festival 2 is coming. Here's what we know about the lineup.

In an interview with TODAY that aired in February 2025, McFarland said the lineup hasn't been firmed up yet but he's expecting A-listers to perform. This is apparently based on top-secret conversations the festival founder has had with these huge names. McFarland has chosen to embrace the mistakes he made the first time around by capitalizing on them to promote Fyre Festival 2. This is how he's pitching part deux to potential artists.

McFarland described Fyre Festival as the "most talked about music festival in the world," since 2016, that is. "Obviously, a lot of that has been negative, but I think that most people, once they kind of get under the hood and study the plans and see the team behind Fyre 2, they see the upside," he explained. He believes that this could be an annual event that "really takes over the festival industry."

The festival is scheduled to go from May 30 to June 2, 2025, which is a month later than the first one back in 2017. "We just needed the extra month to give our partners time to get everything ready," said McFarland. One would think trapping people on an island was something that could be avoided this time around, but McFarland can't seem to shake that isolated obsession. Fyre Festival 2 is happening on Isla Mujeres, a Mexican island in the Caribbean.

Don't worry, a very competent production company will be on-site to handle everything "soup to nuts," McFarland assured everyone. They are going to tackle all of the logistics while McFarland and his team develop and build out the island for the festival activities. Tickets are currently on sale and include packages ranging from $1,400 to $1.1 million. Individual tickets are $500 each.

The $1.1 million package is called the Prometheus Package and according to McFarland, "You will be on a boat and have the luxury yachts that we partner with who will be docked and parked outside the island." Although he once again promises a luxury experience, McFarland claims that's not what Fyre Festival 2 is all about. "It’s about the adventure," he said.