After Fyre Festival 2 Failure, Billy McFarland Tries Again—Pop Up Festival in Honduras Announced

Convicted frauster Billy McFarland’s Fyre Festival do-over failed after local officials revealed the ‘festival’ did not have the required permits. Now McFarland is trying again with a newly dubbed ‘Fyre Coral View Pop-Up’ on Utila—a small island in Honduras.

This new event is slated for September 3 – 10, 2025 and appears to follow the same setup as Fyre Festival 2. This attempt is being marketing as an ‘adventure-infused’ island getaway. That was supposedly the same appeal of Fyre Festival 2, which was supposed to be held on Isla Mujeres off the cost of Cancún, Mexico. But local Isla Mujeres officials took to social media to deny any involvement in the festival as advertised. Organizers then shifted the event to Playa del Carmen, another well-known Mexican resort spot.

Authorities from Playa del Carmen also publicly denied that Fyre Festival 2 could be held there, based on a lack of records for permits for such a festival. Organizers posted photos of the supposed permits, but those ‘proof’ photos were just permits granted to local hotels for small gatherings of up to 300 people—not the massive destination festival that was being advertised.

This latest attempt at resurrecting the failed Fyre name comes as a collaboration between McFarland and Heath Miller, a former New York concert promoter. Miller is the current owner of the Coral Villa Utila resort in Honduras. However, marketing for this pop-up event appears to be more in line with what Fyre Festival 2 actually would have been if it went through. It’s positioned as a pop-up and ‘low-key experience’ for 300 to 400 guests. Fyre Festival 2 ticket holders are not guaranteed entry.

Room rates for this pop-up event appear to start at $198 per night for singles and up to $449 for a four-person room with access to the event during booking. Miller has stressed that the pop-up event will not feature a star-studded line-up and at the time of writing, no artists have been confirmed to be on board. The focus is on bringing global attention to this ‘off the map gem’ of an island rather than creating a massive destination music festival.

Skepticism around anything Fyre related remains high after the 2017 debacle that resulted in McFarland going to prison. Whether this pop-up will deliver on an event that is worth talking about remains to be seen. So far, the marketing seems to be more honest than previous attempts—acknowledging the small-scale resort focus rather than massive weekend to attract big dollar ticket buyers.