Everything to Know About the Chainsmokers Concert in the Hamptons

This is Wait, What?, a column that explains the seemingly incomprehensible.

Would you, my friend, risk your life and the lives of others in the middle of a global pandemic to see EDM duo The Chainsmokers in concert, presented by FuckJerry’s tequila line, with an opening set from DJ D-Sol (aka Goldman Sachs CEO David M. Solomon)? “No” you might be saying right now. “Absolutely fucking not,” perhaps. Possibly even, “who are any of those people?”

Well. An estimated crowd of 2,000 answered “yes” to that mad libs question from hell—and paid $1,250 to $25,000 per ticket for the honor—in the Hamptons on Saturday night. According to TMZ, the “Safe & Sound” concert was meant to be a socially-distanced drive-in show to benefit the charities No Kid Hungry, Southampton Fresh Air Home, and the Children’s Medical Fund of New York and organized by In The Know Experiences—“a leading luxury travel & lifestyle agency, specializing in one-of-a-kind experiences around the globe”—and Invisible Noise. 

But, with coronavirus cases spiking around the country, videos and photos posted of the night immediately prompted a swift and steady social media backlash and, soon after, a governmental investigation. Here, a thorough breakdown of this year’s Fyre Fest in miniature.

Who are the main players in this catastrophe?

The Chainsmokers

An EDM duo consisting of two white men in their thirties named Alex Pall and Drew Taggart (do not ask me which is which). Best known for their 2016 hit single “Closer” with Halsey, which I must admit, I have never once not enjoyed hearing. They’re also the highest paid DJs in the world, pulling in $46 million in 2018 according to Forbes. It’s important to note that they are not brothers, as I had previously thought. 

DJ D-Sol