The Best Fest-Related April Fools' Day Pranks

Article by: Laura Mason|@masonlazarus

Thu April 02, 2015 | 00:00 AM


Whether you were the unwitting victim of a direct April Fools' prank or simply fell for an expertly crafted internet joke, silly, fake fest news was everywhere yesterday. Here are the best ones we saw (and maybe fell for ourselves – whoops!), in case you missed them.

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1. Obama Professes His Love for Burning Man

Mixmag.net went straight for the top of the heap, claiming President Barack Obama, during a Q&A at a "Silicone Valley Trust Association" meeting, declared about Burning Man: "'I think it sounds like a lot of fun.'" Mixmag reported that as "confusion spread among his staff," he continued, "'I've got two more years in office, after that Michelle and I might even head up there ourselves in Billary’s camper, make a little White House Art car for all you folks....See, you got all these beautiful, dynamic people coming together, spreading love, looking out for one another. That is vaguely like my vision of tomorrow’s America. Minus the orgies and techno. I'm more of a house guy, as you know.'"

We were about to jump all over this, until we googled the "Silicone Valley Trust Association," and our eyes popped at the mention of "a journalist from the San Francisco Herald," both of which screamed "fake! fake! fake!" Nice try, guys.

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2. DJ Snake Trolls Dillon Francis

Thebangingbeats.com reported a silly scheme that saw DJ Snake trolling his fellow DJ and Ultra performer Dillon Francis. Snake reportedly posted Francis's phone number in huge text as part of the backdrop of his set during Ultra 2015, giving everyone a chance to text their favorite DJ. Apparently it took only about 5 minutes for Francis's voice mailbox to completely fill up – and shortly after the prank Francis tweeted about 500 missed calls and 1,000 new texts. Does this beat Deadmau5's now famous 2012 prank on Skrillex, when the mouse wore a shirt printed with Skrillex's personal number? You decide.

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3. Bonnaroo's Superjam 2015 is Unveiled

This one really had us salivating, until we couldn't find any corroborating evidence for this mega news anywhere else on the internet. Ergh! Festivalsnobs.com reported a huge Bonnaroo announcement on the lineup of its annual, highly anticipated Superjam, saying that none other than Kanye West would return to The Farm, alongside an insane mashup of artists including Mos Def, STS9's Hunter Brown, Childish Gambino, Cashmere Cat, Vic Mensa, Gary Clark, Jr., Hudson Mohawke, Skepta and Rustie. WHOA. We almost wish it were true, just so we could watch Kanye's craziness unfold one more time. 

4. Robot Heart Drops the Skrillex-Diplo Set from Burning Man 2014

Fooled again! Just as you were about to turn up the bass on this Soundcloud track from the Robot Heart Bus from Burning Man 2014, you probably realized there was no bass to be heard – only Diplo's speaking voice and a bunch of booing. From their Facebook page, Robot Heart exclaimed, "Wednesday; Hump Day in the default world, but at Burning Man, it's just a regular old day where like any other day on the Playa absolutely ANYTHING can happen! Skrillex and Diplo on the decks as Jack Ü and the proof is in our SoundCloud account!" It's all in reference to Burning Man 2014 where Skrillex and Diplo made an appearance on the Robot Heart bus and were subsequently booed by the audience. Hence, this bangin' April Fools' track.