Travis Scott festival tragedy: Were warning signs missed at Astroworld?

Editor Stephen Hill   06/11/21

On November 5, 2021, a fatal crowd crush occurred during the first night of the 2021 Astroworld Festival, a music event founded by American rapper Travis Scott that was held at NRG Park in Houston, Texas. 

Eight people died on the night of the concert, and two more died in the hospital over the following days. 

The cause of death for all ten was ruled to be accidental compressive asphyxiation, with one of the ten affected by the additional influence of a toxic combination of drugs and alcohol. Twenty-five people were hospitalized, and more than 300 people were treated for injuries at the festival's field hospital. Multiple concertgoers documented the incident, posting videos and recounting their experiences.

For almost 40 minutes after Houston police and firefighters responded to a "mass casualty" event at Travis Scott's packed Astroworld music festival on Friday, the superstar continued to perform. By the time he left the stage, it had become one of the deadliest concerts in US history. 

Fans were filmed chanting "stop the show" and pleading for staff to help. One even climbed onto a camera platform to point out the injured.  Scott eventually ended his set about 15 to 20 minutes ahead of the advertised time. 

But questions remain about why it didn't finish sooner.  "Nine thirty, right there. That's when a few people started going down," Houston police chief Troy Finner said at a press conference on Saturday.  "Our people stepped up and immediately went to the producers and told them, 'Hey, we got people going down.' This show ended at 10:10pm. I just wanted to acknowledge that.

Scott, one of the biggest names in rap music, launched the event with concert promoters Live Nation in 2018. 

He said in an Instagram video that he was not aware how bad things had become during his headline set this year.  "Any time I could make out anything that's going on, I just stopped the show and helped them get the help they need," he said. 

"I could just never imagine the severity of the situation."  In footage from the concert, he can be seen interrupting his performance to ask for help for a fan who had passed out.  

However in another another video, he can be heard saying during another break: "Who asked you to stop? Y'all know what y'all came to do - chase me, let's go."  

The rapper is known for his wild shows, and has been in trouble for inciting dangerous behaviour in the past.  

In 2015, he was charged with disorderly conduct after encouraging fans in Chicago to ignore security and rush the stage.  

Two years later, he spotted a fan hanging from a venue's second-storey balcony and tried to persuade them to jump.  At the same concert, a 27-year-old fan was paralysed after being pushed off a third-floor balcony.  

In 2019, hundreds of fans rushed the Astroworld barriers, with three people going to hospital with minor injuries. Police wrote on Twitter that the event was understaffed and that "promoters did not plan sufficiently for the large crowds", although the statement was later deleted.

The rapper and Live nation could face criminal or Civil prosecutions with some concertgoers hiring attorneys to represent them in lawsuits against Scott, Live Nation, and others associated with producing the show. 

Attendee Manuel Souza, who’s represented by firm Kherkher Garcia, LLP, is filing a petition that calls the tragedy “predictable and preventable.”  “Tragically, due to Defendants’ motivation for profit at the expense of concertgoers’ health and safety, and due to their encouragement of violence, at least 8 people lost their lives and scores of others were injured at what was supposed to be a night of fun,” Souza’s petition says. 

He claims to have “suffered serious bodily injuries when the uncontrolled crowd at the concert knocked him to the ground and trampled him.”  

Ryan S. MacLeod, partner at Kherkher Garcia, LLP, said in a statement to Vulture, “As proud residents of Houston, we are sickened by the devastating tragedy that took place on Friday night. Travis Scott has a history of inciting violence and creating dangerous conditions for concertgoers. 

In fact, he tweeted that he would let the wild ones in after the show sold out. He and those who promoted and supported this concert must take responsibility for their heinous actions. We intend to hold them fully accountable by showing that this behaviour will not be tolerated in our great city.