After many missteps and rescheduling, Billy McFarland is looking to sell Fyre Festival 2.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the second iteration of the 2017 edition, which was disastrous, is postponed indefinitely.
Fyre Festival 2 was allegedly scheduled to take place at Isla Mujeres, Mexico, from May 30 to June 2, 2025. Tourist officials pumped the brakes in March, stating they were unaware of the Fyre Festival’s occurrence, despite tickets being sold for upwards of $1,400 each.
Then, Fyre Festival announced it was relocating to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The official Fyre Festival Instagram posted redacted emails and documents claiming they were getting their act together concerning permits. Playa del Carmen’s city hall also denied the festival’s occurrence there, issuing a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter).
With Fyre Festival losing whatever little muster it had, McFarland, who grew up in Millburn, posted a statement on the official website about his intentions to liquidate the company’s intellectual property and trademarks while stepping down from the company.
“I can’t risk a repeat of what happened in Playa Del Carmen, where support quickly turned into public distancing once media attention intensified,” noting, “For FYRE Festival 2 to succeed, it’s clear that I need to step back and allow a new team to move forward independently, bringing the vision to life on this incredible island.”
On Monday, TruBlue streaming co-founder Shawn Rech reached a deal with McFarland to acquire some of the IP, including two trademarks, to create a music-video streaming service, according to Deadline. McFarland pleaded guilty in 2018 to wire fraud and was sentenced to six years in prison for Fyre Fest-related fraud and selling fake tickets to other events, and was released from prison in 2022. The convicted fraudster also owes his victims from the first Fyre Festival more than $26 million.
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Murjani Rawls may be reached at mrawls@njadvancemedia.com