Is the Lovers & Friends Festival the New Fyre Fest? Twitter Compares the Two

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The Lovers and Friends Festival, a music festival set to take place on May 9 in Los Angeles, is being compared to the infamous Fyre Festival failure, after some performers called the festival out for not paying them before advertising them on the lineup, or even for flat-out misrepresenting their involvement in the festival.

Two performers, Mase and Twista, called out the festival in the comments section of an Instagram post on the festival’s account, which named them on the official lineup.

MASE, a rapper, wrote, “Best wishes on this show but please take my name off this flyer”

Twista similarly wrote, “AINT NO DEPOSIT HIT MY ACCOUNT FOR THIS SHOW”

However, Twista went on to write a contradictory comment on the post shortly after: “Locked and loaded playin all the hits ya diggg”

This only served to confuse fans even further, regarding what was real and what wasn’t.

Then, Lil Kim went to her own Instagram and shared the news that she wasn’t involved with Lovers & Friends on an Instagram story. Specifically, she shared a screenshot of the apparent lineup, and wrote over it, “This is SO FAKE! I am not a part of this.”

Many people quickly noted that Ja Rule is listed as a performer on the festival’s official lineup. Ja Rule was famously a backer for the Fyre Festival, though he was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing in a $100 million class action suit over the festival in November 2019.

For all of the events mentioned above, it didn’t take long for people to connect Lovers & Friends with Fyre. One person tweeted, “The fact that Ja Rule is on the bill, is making this look more and more like Fyre Fest: Hip Hop Edition.”

Another person tweeted, “I don’t trust it man, this is exactly how the Fyre Fest documentary started. I’m good.”

Another Twitter sleuth wrote, “T-Pain is performing in Miami @ Rolling Loud on this day… and Megan is gonna be in D.C. @ Broccoli Fest. Are y’all scamming folks who are unaware of other music festivals?”

It’s true that T-Pain is on the Rolling Loud lineup, which is set to take place in Miami from May 8-10. It’s also true that Megan Thee Stallion is set to headline Broccoli City Festival in Washington, D.C., which will take place May 7-9. Neither of those artists have addressed the seeming schedule conflict.

Lovers & Friends has not responded, in any official capacity, to the outcry on Twitter.

Here’s what you need to know:

Lovers & Friends Announced a Pre-Sale Date on Feb. 20, With Tickets Ranging From $175-450

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The Lovers & Friends Festival presale was announced on Feb. 18, confirming that tickets for pre-sale would be available on Feb. 20.

Though three performers challenged the validity of the lineup immediately, others backed it up. Snoop Dogg, for example, posted the lineup to his Instagram, writing, “I promised you all something huge and here it is : Lovers & Friends Festival ?. May 9th in Los Angeles – The Grounds at Dignity Health Sports Park… Presale begins Feb 20th at 10am PT! Sign up now at loversandfriendsfest.com! Payment plan available starting as low as $19.99 down.”

As of now, people are only able to register for the tickets presale on the Lovers & Friends official website.

However, the details around ticket prices are nowhere near the astronomical costs that Fyre fest demanded of its attendees. Per the site, a general admission ticket will run you between $145-175, a VIP ticket will cost between $230-250, and a “Super VIP” ticket will cost approximately $450.