Astroworld Festival generates a shocking tragedy

Friday November 5th, rapper Travis Scott held a music festival in his hometown of Houston, Texas. There was a highly anticipated lineup of artists to play, including names like SZA, Roddy Rich, Chief Keef, and Bad Bunny. 50,000 fans bought tickets to the sold-out festival, excited to see their favorite artists all on one stage. Unfortunately, the event did not go as planned and resulted in the death of at least ten people.

Before the show even began, there were signs that there would be problems. Fans began to storm through security, some pushed through the metal detectors by the dozens, and others jumped fences. Staff were no longer in control of the masses that began to flood the festival, and chaos ensued.

Scott was set to begin his performance at 9 P.M., and as the countdown got shorter, the crowd pushed closer and closer to the front. Within minutes of Scott taking the stage, panic set in. People were being shoved, crushed, and suffocated. According to attendees, it was so close that people with their hands up didn’t have room to put them back down again and many that had given statements reported that they feared for their lives.

A lot of the concert survivors took to social media to share their experiences at the festival. Many described being pushed up against barriers, stepping over fallen and passed out people, and falling down themselves. There were even attendees that climbed onto platforms in an attempt to alert some of the stage workers of the severity of the situation. There were a plethora of videos taken from different people showing different angles of the crowd chanting and screaming at Scott, “Stop the show,” to no avail. Videos show that he even stopped the show and made a comment about an ambulance in the crowd, and then continued the show.

Scott played his whole set, finishing around 10:15, despite the terror that had broken out in the crowd and the many people that had passed out or died. 

Scott has released statements on his social media regarding the situation, stating how he felt. 

“I’m honestly just devastated,” Scott said.

He stated that during the show he wasn’t aware of the severity of the situation. He also plans on covering costs for the funerals and helping victims and families during this time. He’s also refunding everyone who bought a ticket to Astroworld. Many people found his response “insincere” considering he continued the show.

As of now, ten people were confirmed to have died. Hundreds of others were injured and most were left traumatized. Many blame Scott for not having stopped the show sooner, some blame the fans, and some blame security and the stage workers. Several lawsuits have already been filed against Scott and/or those involved with the festival. It’s clear that there was miscommunication, and regardless of who’s at fault for this tragedy, it’s still a horrific event that claimed the lives of at least ten people.