The Tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld 2021

The Tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld 2021

Erin Chambers, Culture Editor

A crowd crushing occurrence at Travis Scott’s third annual Astroworld music festival on Friday night in Houston took the lives of eight in attendance and hundreds of others suffering minor to severe injuries. The rest of the festival was canceled entirely following the incident on night one.

A criminal investigation is underway following the tragic incident. More than 15 lawsuits have already been filed. These allege that concert promoter Live Nation, festival organizer ScoreMore and Scott himself among others are responsible for the fatal crowd crush. 

Scott, a Houston native himself, released a statement on Twitter following the deadly night in Texas. 

“I am absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” the artist tweeted.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner confirmed to CNN’s Pamela Brown over the weekend that his team met to begin inspecting what happened at the concert. The investigation “will take weeks, if not longer,” he said. 

Several festival goers described the chaos that unraveled at Astroworld as “the most scared I’ve ever been.” The eight people who died include a 14-year-old, a 16-year-old, two 21-year-olds, two 23-year-olds and a 27-year-old. Reports confirm that a 9-year-old is also in a coma after being trampled by rushing fans. 

There are also claims of fans getting injected in the neck with fentanyl in the chaos of the crowd. However, these reports have not yet been confirmed.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner stated Monday that he communicated “public safety concerns” to the “goosebumps” singer directly during a “brief and respectable” encounter before the start of Astroworld on Friday. 

Madeline Eskins, a loyal Astroworld fan who has gone to the festival every year, told Buzzfeed News that she saw people “getting carried away with eyes rolled back into their heads by security, bleeding from their nose and mouth.” 

Here’s everything we know about the aftermath of the festival. 

Concertgoers file lawsuits against Travis Scott and Live Nation

As of Monday, 18 lawsuits have been filed by various concert goers. 14 of these lawsuits include Scott, with one including Grammy winning artist, Drake, who was brought on stage by Scott the night of the incident. The lawsuits were filed in Harris County, Texas, alleging negligence and gross negligence.

Travis Scott dropped from Day N Vegas music festival

Following the tragedy, Scott will no longer be performing at Day N Vegas music festival this weekend. 

“Travis Scott will no longer be performing at Day N Vegas,” the festival said in a statement shared to social media. “The security and safety of all attending Day N Vegas has been and is always top priority in our festival planning. We continue to work hand in hand with law enforcement, medical personnel and public safety agencies on our protocols for the weekend.” 

Refunds are issued to Astroworld attendees

Travis Scott, Live Nation and ScoreMore have announced that festival attendees will be receiving full refunds. 

ScoreMore has also confirmed working on ways to support the attendees, the families of victims and staff by providing mental health counseling and setting up a health fund to aid in medical expenses.

​​Artists to cover funeral expenses of dead attendees

Both Roddy Ricch, a headliner of the festival, and Scott have released statements on social media confirming they will be taking care of any and all funeral expenses for the eight people who died in the crowd crush. 

The Astroworld investigation is ongoing and updates will be released as they come.