Travis Scott, who was born in Houston, Texas, is one of the most popular artists of this decade. His album “Astroworld” has sold about four million copies in the U.S., and his collaboration with Drake for “Sicko Mode” is exceedingly popular today. Unfortunately, 10 people died and two dozen were treated at hospitals after a crowd surge Travis Scott’s Astroworld Music Festival at NGR Park in Houston on Friday, November 5th, 2021.

Exactly What Happened

According to the Wall Street Journal article “What Happened at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Concert? What to Know”, 50,000 fans attended the festival, which concert organizers said sold out in less than an hour after tickets first went on sale in May.  NRG Park’s complex has an arena, convention center and stadium, which has a seating capacity of 72,000.  The concert took place outdoors on NRG Park’s parking lot, and the venue could have safely accommodated thousands of more people based on fire codes.

Before Scott’s concert started, people began to press toward the stage, and it became too much. According to The Los Angeles Times news article “A festival paramedic reflects on the Astroworld tragedy” by Dornay Pineda, people kept taking one step forward, and before the concert even started, people started to compress to the point where it was hard to breathe. After Scott started the show, people even tried to get help from the security, but they would not stop the show. This event led to 10 people dead, including a 9-year-old boy and about two dozen injured and sent to the hospital.

At 9:35 p.m., people were climbing ladders and screaming at Travis Scott to stop the show. According to BBC news, he saw an ambulance but kept performing. Typically, an artist should shut down a concert if people are in danger.

Source: https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/travis-scott-astroworld-amusement-park/

Who Is To Blame?

Some students at Miami High believe that Travis should’ve stopped the concert if he realized that people were yelling for help.  Freshman Nicole Garcia believes that if this tragic event happened to her it would be the performer’s fault for not stopping the concert. She also thinks that if he had stopped the concert, fewer lives would have been lost.

Sophomore Melissa Fajes thinks the concert was poorly handled. “They didn’t have enough security or personnel,” she said. She thinks that Travis at least could have done something. He saw what was happening and he didn’t even care when he saw people fainting and didn’t offer some help. She hopes that Travis realizes that money isn’t everything.

Others, however, don’t put all the blame on Travis. Freshman Ivette Moreta believes that it is the fans’ fault, but Travis and his security system should’ve stopped it before it got out of control. She said that they should’ve called 911 as soon as it started.

Freshman Shawn Manjares believes that Travis is heartless but also believes if his fans weren’t so angry, that none of this would have happened. “If there were more securities, this could have been avoided,” said Shawn.

Freshman Framery Gonzales was extremely disappointed to see that Travis could let something so devastating happen to his audience who got him where he is now. She thinks not only he is to blame, but also the security.

What Travis Had to Say: 

The day after the concert, Scott posted on Twitter, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival. Houston PD has my total support as they continue to investigate the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department, and NRG Park for their immediate response and support. Love You All.”

His “Apology “

Scott further responded to this tragedy in an Instagram video , addressing that he refused to stop the show after the deadly crowd crush and claiming that he wasn’t aware of the severity of the situation. “Anytime I could make out, you know, anything that’s going on, you know, I stop the show and, you know, help them get the help they need,” he said. He added that he’s working with authorities to “try to get to the bottom of this.” Scott continued, “I’m honestly just devastated, and I could never imagine anything like this happening.”

In an interview on YouTube “A conversation with Travis Scott and Charlamange tha God” he said, “It wasn’t until minutes into the press conference that I figured out exactly what happened.”

The Victims 

• John Hilgert, 14, was described as a “good student, athlete and so polite”.
• Varsity cheerleader Madison Dubiski, 23, was the “life and soul of the party”, according to friends.
• Devoted Dallas Cowboys fan Mirza “Danish” Baig was reportedly injured as he tried to help his fiancée.
• Brianna Rodriguez, 16, was a high school student who “loved to dance”.
• Axel Acosta Avila, 21, was a computer science major at Western Washington University.
• Rodolfo “Rudy” Pena, 23, of Laredo, Texas, was a student at Laredo College and wanted to be a Border Patrol agent.
• Franco Patino, 21, was working toward a mechanical engineering technology degree at the University of Dayton.
• Jacob “Jake” Jurinek, 20, a junior at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, died just short of his 21st birthday.

Source: Rolling Stones (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/astroworld-travis-scott-victims-1254484/)