Billy McFarland

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Fyre Festival Brand Sells for a Song

eBay buyer gets festival's trademarks, social media, and infamous reputation

(Newser) - The infamous Fyre Festival brand, best known for its 2017 implosion in the Bahamas, just changed hands on eBay for $245,300. The weeklong auction drew 175 bids from 42 hopefuls before wrapping up Tuesday afternoon, reports NBC News . Up for grabs were the brand's intellectual property, trademarks,...

Billy McFarland Is Selling Fyre Fest

Founder says disaster-prone brand will do better 'without me at the helm'

(Newser) - It seems clear that Fyre Fest 2, the sequel to the disastrous 2017 Fyre Fest , won't be taking place next month in Mexico—but it looks like whatever happens next with the beleaguered music festival won't involve founder Billy McFarland . "It's time to pass the torch,...

Fyre Fest 2 Goes the Way Everyone Thought It Would

Billy McFarland's attempt to redeem himself after first disastrous Fyre Fest has been postponed

(Newser) - The prospect of a Fyre Fest 2 has gone from "probably" to "well, maybe not" to a hard "no"—at least for now. Organizers of the music fest, whose first incarnation in the Bahamas in 2017 was an infamous disaster, have announced they're postponing the...

It's Not Looking Good for Fyre Fest 2

7 weeks out, event may or may not have an approved location

(Newser) - The revival of Fyre Festival appears to be crumbling to pieces just weeks after its founder promised the show would go on . The event was set to take place May 30-June 2 on an island off the coast of Cancun, Mexico, but last week, founder Billy McFarland indicated the location...

Fyre Fest 2 Is Really Happening (Probably)
Fyre Fest 2 Is Really
Happening (Probably)
the rundown
Feb 25, 2025 8:20 AM CST

Fyre Fest 2 Is Really Happening (Probably)

Founder Billy McFarland teases a great time, with no mention of artists, food

(Newser) - The first Fyre Festival was an absolute disaster. The second? Touted as a rip-roaring good time. "You'll explore by day alongside your favorite talent and come together at night to celebrate with music," reads a promotional poster shared Monday, which assures us "Fyre Festival 2 is...

Fyre Festival Guy: If Next One Fails, I'm Really Sunk
Fyre Fest Founder
Offers New Details
UPDATED
Sep 9, 2024 9:24 AM CDT

Fyre Fest Founder Offers New Details

Billy McFarland says 2nd attempt at event will be in April on a privately owned Caribbean island

(Newser) - Fyre Fest founder Billy McFarland is spilling new details on his plans for a second round of the ill-fated event, telling NBC News that he hopes to gather about 3,000 people on a private island in the Caribbean, off the coast of Mexico, from April 25 to April 28....

Fyre Fest II 'Finally Happening,' Says Failed Fyre Fest Founder

Billy McFarland is teasing second music festival, details still unknown, after going to jail for first one

(Newser) - A year after his release from prison, the founder of the failed Fyre Festival is teasing round two. "Fyre Festival II is finally happening. Tell me why you should be invited," Billy McFarland tweeted Sunday. He hasn't revealed details but suggested the event would again take place...

Here's What Michael Cohen's Prison Life Will Be Like

He begins 3-year sentence at a white-collar facility in Otisville, NY

(Newser) - Michael Cohen begins a new, unwanted phase of his life on Monday: prisoner. President Trump's former attorney reports to the federal correctional institute in Otisville, NY, about 90 miles north of New York City, to start serving his three-year sentence for misdeeds including tax evasion and lying to Congress....

Guy Behind Fyre Festival Fiasco Learns His Fate

Billy McFarland gets 6 years in prison

(Newser) - Declaring him to be a "serial fraudster" who has been "dishonest most of his life," a federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday sentenced the organizer of 2017's Fyre Festival to six years in prison, the New York Times reports. For his part, 26-year-old Billy McFarland acknowledged...

NYT Gets Its Hands on Telling Recording of Fyre Fest Meeting

'NYT' cites audio of an apparently unfazed Ja Rule, partner after fiasco

(Newser) - People won't soon forget the Ja Rule "luxury" music fest in the Bahamas that ended in chaos . The performer and his business partner, Billy McFarland, apologized afterward, but the pair's company, Fyre Media, has now been slammed with more than a dozen lawsuits, and a source tells...

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