Back in August of 2015, the band Thirty Seconds to Mars launched Camp Mars,
a three-night getaway taking place in Malibu, California.
Alison P. Davis of the publication The Cut, described the evidence of the camp as resembling
and I quote “a combination of Coachella, a work retreat, and a Guilty Remnant Gathering,”
since it combined activities like hiking and camp singalongs with band and DJ performances.
While there was some suspicion over the camp’s $900 admission fee, as well as a cultish ad
promoting it, many fans reported having genuinely positive experiences in the camp. But in 2019,
the band took this experience a step further by launching the Mars Island festival,
and have since played up their persona as a cult. That’s what we’ll discuss in today’s video.
The Mars Island Festival was created as a successor to Camp Mars, occurring the
same month as a three-night, all-expenses-paid retreat, featuring many of the same activities,
and was reserved for several hundred fans. But this time taking place overseas,
on a private Adriatic island in Croatia. Excluding travel expenses, the starter package for the first
Mars Island festival was $995, while the highest tier package was $6,499,
including and I quote “an exclusive VIP experience with [the band’s frontman] Jared [Leto] himself”.
It’s worth noting that the Mars Island festival occurred two years after the infamous Fyre
Festival, which ended in disaster at the hands of its founder Billy McFarland, and even though
this festival was a success in contrast, its spectacle was also at the forefront, which was
off-putting to some attendees. According to Total Croatia News, they’d expressed disappointment with
the festival’s first iteration, as the concert performances that were promised as part of the
experience were replaced with preaching sessions conducted by Leto. But a majority seemed unfazed
by this change, and complied with the dynamic. As shown in Jared Leto’s Twitter post on August 15th,
2019, several photos feature droves of attendees dressed in white robes alongside him,
all appearing to be in adulation of him, with the caption, “Yes, this is a cult.”
While this quote appears as if it’s specific to the festival, it actually had its origins
early in Thirty Seconds to Mars’s history. By the time the band released their self-titled
debut album in 2002, they had already amassed a devoted following, which they’d call The Echelon,
named after the sixth track on the album. They’d also become known for their intimacy
with their fans, which is shown in the music video for their second single, “Edge of the Earth,”
released a year later. A decade following that release, the band were profiled by Time Magazine,
who mentioned to Leto about the quote “Yes, this is a cult” appearing in the music video for the
song “Closer to the Edge.” Leto would respond, “It’s a joke, a response to journalists saying,
‘‘You have such a cult following.’’ We have always had incredibly committed
people following us. If people like 30 Seconds to Mars, they really, really, really like it.”
While noting their preference for the collective term, “The Echelon,” rather than fans,
he’d say, by his own admission, “I hate the word ‘‘fan’’; it just seems
so dismissive. Because we have this cult, this family, these believers who understand, it seems
fitting that there was a name to reference them.” While the festival was cancelled in 2020 due
to the pandemic, it was announced in 2021 to take place on the Croatian island of Obonjan
from August 20th to 23rd. Much like Camp Mars during its four-year span, the price
increased considerably, with the base package now at $1,649, and the VIP package at $7,149.
According to the Mars Island section of the band’s website, which is accessible by login only,
these packages were said to include, and I quote, “two full-length group concerts,
activities with the band, [accommodations] and food.” With the already high admission price,
there were also several upsells. If attendees were to request a bathroom as part of their tent,
rather than using a facility near the site, they’d have to pay as much as $2,491.66 on top of their
chosen admission price, and an extra night on the island would cost them an additional $467.
But as the pandemic worsened during this time, the 2021 festival was also cancelled.
In April of this year, Jenika Enoch, a fan who attended Camp Mars with a friend in 2017,
wrote an article describing her experience for the publication Geeks,
titled “Escaping the ‘Cult’ of Mars,” and while she makes note of the expensive admission,
her words echo how a majority of fans felt, “Honestly, it was one of the most fun vacations
I have ever had.” “I met some pretty cool people, got to attend consecutive ‘Church
of Mars’ concerts (complete with each night being a theme night), enjoy the beautiful Malibu hills,
and not feel like I had to look at my phone every 5 minutes. The camp had everything
you could think of - s'mores, campfires, tents, archery, swimming, hiking, and games,”she’d say
According to Enoch, Camp Mars evolved into the Mars Island festival based on the demand from
fans outside of the US for a similar experience. While she notes that there wasn’t anything out of
the ordinary about Mars Island, even with what’s shown in photos, she also surmises
that the band’s tendency toward profit over community has led to disarray among their fanbase.
“There was this constant feeling like you had to compete with others for attention
to get your money's worth. Like "I paid for this, I better do what I can to be seen by
them." It's a terrible feeling and that is exactly how Jared has molded the fanbase.“
“Add in the release of an album that wasn't very good, the departure of their longtime guitarist,
the underwhelming A Day in the Life of America project that promised fan-submitted footage and
included none of it, and just the overall nastiness and entitlement
within the Echelon,” she’d say. The band is currently holding a pre-sale for Mars
Island this year, which is set to once again take place on Obonjan from August 19th to the 22nd.
That does it for today’s episode of Rock N’ Roll True Stories, guys; thanks for watching.
Be sure to leave a like and subscribe, and I’ll see you in the next video. Take care.