Chaos at Ja Rule’s Luxury Fyre Festival

Fyre Festival, a new luxury festival whose first weekend was scheduled to kick off last night in the Bahamas, is in disarray, the BBC reports. Reports of trouble at the fest, for which weekend ticket prices ranged from $1,000 to $12,000, began to emerge yesterday, as the first ticket-holders arrived at an apparently unfinished campsite. That evening, Blink-182 cancelled, citing doubts that they could give “the quality of performances we always give fans.” The festival hit another snag when planes scheduled to depart Miami for the festival were grounded, with some would-be attendees live-streaming as they were made to disembark. (Airline representatives told passengers the island was over capacity, according to Billboard.) Multiple festival-goers already on the island reported underwhelming conditions, including unstable accommodation, haphazard luggage distribution, “luxury tents” recognizable from disaster relief efforts, and more. Attempts to leave the island, too, were apparently hindered. Below, read a statement from the festival, which acknowledges an “unexpected start” and promises to refund those whose flights were cancelled. Update (4/28 10 a.m.): The festival has been postponed. Read more here.

Alongside entrepreneur Billy McFarland, Ja Rule is the festival’s co-creator; his company Fyre App is the festival’s namesake. Other acts scheduled to play Fyre this weekend include Pusha T, Migos, Disclosure, Major Lazer, Kaytranada, and more. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for those artists, and the festival, for comment.

Things got off to an unexpected start at day one of Fyre Festival. FOR THOSE CURRENTLY ON GREAT EXUMA We are working to comfortably accommodate guests and deliver a great experience. If you have needs, please head to the “BLUE HOUSE” on the main festival site. Security, first aid, and Fyre Festival staff are here to assist immediately, 24/7. FOR THOSE WITH PENDING TRAVEL TO THE EXUMAS TOMORROW Due to circumstances beyond our control, and in line with a culture of safety, all inbound charter flights to the Exumas have been canceled. Your ticket and any funds uploaded to your RFID band will be refunded. Thank you for bearing with us as we work through the growing pains that every first year event experiences. Revised itinerary information will be shared soon for the remainder of this weekend and weekend two.

A post shared by FYRE FESTIVAL (@fyrefestival) on Apr 27, 2017 at 11:20pm PDT

So Fyre Fest is a complete disaster. Mass chaos. No organization. No one knows where to go. There are no villas, just a disaster tent city. pic.twitter.com/1lSWtnk7cA

— William N. Finley IV (@WNFIV) April 27, 2017

This is how Fyre Fest handles luggage. Just drop it out of a shipping container. At night. With no lights. #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/X5CdZRyJWo

— William N. Finley IV (@WNFIV) April 28, 2017

@FyreFraud Here’s the dinner they fed us tonight. Literally slices of bread, cheese, and salad with no dressing. #fyrefraud #fyrefestival #dumpsterfyre pic.twitter.com/NmNXakSFlq

— Tr3vor (@trev4president) April 28, 2017

In case you’re wondering, those “cabanas” are actually disaster relief tents.#fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/jaZpkIKVT2

— Matt Halfhill (@MattHalfhill) April 28, 2017

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