Billy McFarland, the co-founder of the infamous Fyre Festival, the fraudulent luxury music festival that was scheduled to take place in the spring of 2017, has been released from jail. In the two months since he finished his sentence, the businessman has already begun planning his next ventures.
McFarland pled guilty in 2018 for his part in organizing Fyre Festival, which was self-proclaimed to be the Bahamas’ equivalent to Coachella. However, the event was quickly aborted after many attendees complained of problems with security, festival understaffing, logistics, food and accommodations.
Upon his release from jail, McFarland shared his story with Nik Richie from FACTZ during an exclusive video interview. McFarland stated that he’s already planning his his new business venture, Pirate, which he hopes will allow him to build trust with the public again. He added that he plans to connect people again, and that festivals may be part of that process.
The businessman also revealed that he had a difficult experience in jail while he served his sentence. During that time, he had to serve 10 months in solitary confinement, which he described as being “totally brutal,” for running a podcast.
McFarland added that he met “some really cool people” while he served his sentence. He confirmed that he was in the same jail as ‘Jersey Shore’ star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino for five or six months before McFarland got in trouble and “was shipped to worse and worse places after that.”
The businessman also said that he’s excited about running his new company. “It’s all about Pirate and rebuilding trust, repaying people, getting back to what I’m good at and hopefully making a bigger impact,” he noted.
McFarland added that when he interacts people since his release, “It’s been fun. I think the support has been better than I expected, but I’m still getting out there. It’s only been two months.
The businessman then admitted that he has lost a lot of good friends, however, since he was convicted. “But some I never expected are still around, so it’s been a process,” he divulged
During the interview, McFarland also revealed that he’s interested in getting back into the music festival business, and has “a new concept connecting different people…and I think our ideas are little bit more unique this time.”
But the businessman also revealed that when he tries to set up meetings now, “There are people who say, ‘F*ck off’…but the whole media angle certainly opens up a lot of (other) doors.”
McFarland concluded the interview by saying he’s in good spirits and looking forward to his next ventures. “A lot of people expect you to do nothing. Do I want to sit behind a desk and not pay anybody back, or do I want to go for it? I’m going to go for it honestly. Why not take a chance and make it right?,” he asked.