Astroworld is an annual festival run by rapper Travis Scott held in Houston, Texas, near the former site of the Six Flags Park: AstroWorld. The festival is named after his album with the same name. The festival first began back in Nov 2018. 

The 2021 Astroworld Festival was planned to be a two-night event with well-known artists performing along with Travis Scott. 

Here were the lineups: 

November 5th 2021:                             November 6th 2021:

Metro Boomin                                        Teezo Touchdown

Master P                                                SoFaygo

Yves Tumor                                           Maxo Kream + Houston All Stars

Toro y Moi                                             Sheck Wes

Don Toliver                                            BIA

Roddy Ricch                                         Chief Keef

Lil Baby                                                 Earth, Wind & Fire

SZA                                                       Baby Keem

Travis Scott                                           21 Savage

Drake                                                    Bad Bunny

                                                             Tame Impala

                                                             Young Thug + YSL

The venue could hold up to 200,000 people, but was allowed to sell 50,000 instead. 

Travis Scott took the stage around 9 PM, but 30 minutes prior, a couple reported crowds of 50,000 attendees “rushing up to the barricade and people getting pushed forward and back”. As time went on, some people who weren’t as tall, or strong, could not escape the mosh pits. 

A video was posted online of a person climbing onto the platform where a cameraman was filming the show live for Apple Music. They started to yell to stop the show, and that people were dying. Witnesses also report hearing security telling this attendee to “calm down”. 

Link: Houston high school student pleads with cameraman to stop Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival perform

There were also reports on attendees being drugged in the audience. Police were already looking into a drug spiking incident before the event began. Authorities believe the crowd surge may have resulted from the scared crowd along with people running up to see Travis Scott perform. 

With the audience yelling for help, Travis Scott did not stop the concert. In a video also posted online, an ambulance is heard in the background while Scott mocks it’s siren. 

 Link: Travis Scott Tells Crowd to Flip Off Ambulance of Injured Fan  

With the crowd surges, 8 people died. With the 9th victim dying in the hospital on November 10. There were over 300 people injured and 25 hospitalized. 

Here are the victims of this tragedy: Mirza Baig, Rodolfo Pena, Madison Dubiski, Franco Patino, Jacob Jurinke, John Hilgert, Axel Acosta Avila, Brianna Rodriguez, and Bharti Shahani

The tragedy took fans and the media by storm. Who was to blame? 

In my personal opinion, the blame shouldn’t just be pinned on one group. The entirety of the venue is to blame. Let me explain:

Why Travis Is To Blame: 

The main reason why artists are where they are is because of their fans and their audience. I have been to a couple of concerts, and whenever there is even a slight issue with a specific person or the crowd. The artist stops the show. For example, in this video, is a compilation of artists stopping their shows to help their fans. Link: Artist stopping concert to help fans **Travis Scott could neva

It was clear from the sirens, the screams, and even the looks of the audience that something was seriously wrong. Travis Scott knew of these things and did not stop the show. 

Travis Scott apologized on social media in a video. 

Link: Travis Scott Apologize to his Fans and Families after Astroworld Fest Incident

In my personal opinion and the medias, this apology does not seem genuine. Saying sorry is not enough. 

Why The Staff Is To Blame: 

The only purpose of security is to protect the performer AND the audience. With all the footage I’ve seen, it’s clear their only priority is to protect Travis Scott. It is their JOB to protect these people and they did not do that. They were aware of the very high probability that there would be crowd surges, and even when they were asked directly to help, they did not do much. This is completely insane and unacceptable to me. Who in their right mind ignores a call for help especially when it’s their only job? 

Why The Crowd Is To Blame: 

Let me say one thing first, I am a massive fangirl of many many artists. Whenever I see them in concert, yes, I do go crazy. Would I go to the point of completely ignoring people being hurt around me? Absolutely not. Yes, Travis Scott is a very famous performer. But to go to the point to rush and step and crush on people and dead bodies to get to him is insane to me. The point of concerts is safety first, then have fun. 

This entire story genuinely makes me sad. The people hurt and the people who died went to this concert to have fun. I feel absolutely horrible for the victims and the families. 

I will update this story if I find any link to donate to the victims and their families. 

***This opinion article reflects the voice of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of The Viking Times as a whole.  Like most news outlets, The Viking Times is a non-partisan media platform.***