New Jersey native Billy McFarland made headlines this week with the official launch of Fyre Festival 2, which will take place from May 30 to June 2 on Isla Mujeres, a Mexican island near Cancún.

McFarland – who grew up in Short Hills – gained international notoriety when he spearheaded the fraud-plagued Fyre Festival in 2017. The event was heavily promoted on Instagram by social media influencers who didn’t disclose that they were paid to do so. But when ticket holders arrived on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma expecting a luxury music festival – with many of them paying thousands of dollars for the experience – they instead found waterlogged tents, severe security risks and cheese sandwiches in place of the gourmet meals they were promised.

The debacle eventually scored McFarland prison time for his role in what is has become one of the most infamous festivals in music history. He was released from jail early in 2022.

McFarland is now trying to launch a sequel to the Fyre Fest. The Essex County native recently spoke about the new festival with the Today Show. He reportedly will not handle the details: a festival operator and other hospitality companies will be taking up that duty.

McFarland also addressed the elephant in the room: Are you rolling the dice by purchasing a ticket?

“I think it’s always a risk,” he told the Today Show. “You’re taking a risk because I made a lot of bad decisions and messed up the first festival.”

McFarland said 2,000 tickets will be available, and claimed that he has already sold 100 tickets at $500 each.

According to the festival’s website, it will be an “electrifying celebration of music, arts, cuisine, comedy, fashion, gaming, sports, and treasure hunting.” Tickets are priced from $1,400 to $1.1 million. No musical acts have been confirmed yet.

McFarland posted a news release about the festival on Monday with the headline: “Fyre Festival 2 Is Real.”

“I’m sure many people think I’m crazy for doing this again,” he wrote on social media. “But I feel I’d be crazy not to do it again. After years of reflection and now thoughtful planning, the new team and I have amazing plans for Fyre 2.”

Several people referenced the disastrous first version of the festival in the comments section of his post.

“Will there be fine dining like the last one?” one person joked, sharing a photo of a desolate-looking cheese sandwich.

Also seen online:

• “LOL - if anyone goes to this you have nobody to blame but yourself.”
• “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. After being tricked once, one should learn from one's mistakes and avoid being tricked in the same ... What could possibly go wrong?”

Send local news tips and correction requests to [email protected]. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.