Calling it a comeback is an understatement, but Fyre Fest founder Billy McFarland is actually selling out tickets for a sequel to that infamous flop ... and he's telling us how he's pulling it off.
McFarland joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live," revealing the first round of FYRE Festival II pre-sale tickets were scooped up quickly ... and, interestingly, Billy thinks all the buzz around his 2017 tropical failure is driving curiosity and interest around his second attempt.
He tells us why the "no publicity is bad publicity" model really works in his favor. BTW, folks who've already purchased tix, dropped $500 bucks without knowing the exact location or which artists will perform!!!
Billy also chats with us about how the hell he found backers for Fyre Festival II ... saying it wasn't until a Broadway production company supported a musical based on the first Fyre that financiers got interested in his return to live events.
You'll recall, Billy teased the new festival last October -- about 6 months after he served 4 years in prison for wire fraud related to the OG Fyre Fest disaster.
Months after the teaser, Billy reunited with Andy King -- the guy who famously revealed Billy asked him to give oral sex to a customs officer to get shipments of bottled of water -- and they sold grilled cheeses in NYC to raise money for Bahamas workers who still haven't been paid from Fyre.
Billy says he won't be doing as much at next year's festival, but he's at least secured one job -- cookin' up those infamous cheese sandwiches with Andy!
Andy King tells TMZ... "I look forward to working with Billy and our partners to share FYRE with the world. I’m so grateful to have support to help us execute the ultimate redemption."