Many people have heard about the unbelievable events that occurred at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston Texas on Friday, November 6th, 2021. At 8:45 p.m. Travis Scott came on stage to perform for a crowd of around 50,000 people. Fifteen minutes into the performance, the crowd began to surge to the front towards the stage, causing there to be absolutely no space for people to move or even breathe. At this point, people were beginning to pass out, and an ambulance came out into the crowd to perform CPR on people. Travis Scott continued the performance, which was at 10:00 p.m. By that point eight people had died, hundreds were injured, and eight had gone into cardiac arrest. Among the deceased were kids as young as 14 and 9 years old, and a 10-year-old left in critical condition. In total there were ten victims. In less than an hour, this concert went from a fun event to a horrifying one. 

There are a lot of things to consider when assigning blame for everything that happened, and truthfully, one single thing can’t really be blamed. There’s a combination of things that led to this, starting with security. According to many people who attended the festival, the security was poorly trained and careless with their jobs along with being very understaffed. Rules for bags people were allowed to bring in were ignored, and even tickets for the event weren’t checked. Once people entered the event they noticed how overcrowded it was, and that people who didn’t buy tickets were easily sneaking past the security. Once the timer came on for Travis Scott’s set, thirty minutes before he came on, the crowding immediately started and people said it was impossible to move or get out without the help of a security guard or someone who was on the other side of the barricade. 

The second thing that contributed to the events was that the mentality of the crowd at Travis Scott concerts is that they’re there to rage and defy the rules. This amount of people with that mentality clearly took a bad turn very quickly. His concerts are notorious for things going too far, and him encouraging a very chaotic way of behaving. When most people arrived at this event, they knew the nature of the fanbase. Unfortunately many people, some being parents who let their kids go, were not aware of this. Some of those affected were as young as nine years old. A child did not stand a chance in that crowd. Most of the crowd were adults, and the size difference makes it impossible for a kid to be able to see anything. Some people would find it irresponsible of both the event planners and the parents to allow a child that age at this event. Not only is the nature of this event violent at times, but most people smoke and drink at music festivals along with taking hard drugs. 

Travis Scott himself ran the show until the end, which most artists in the industry would consider absolutely unacceptable. Most believe it was his responsibility to keep his fans as safe as he can and should do anything he can to ensure that they are. When the ambulance arrived, many artists would’ve stopped the show until everyone who needed help was assisted. His negligence definitely contributed to many injuries that could’ve been avoided. According to him, he wasn’t aware that it was happening, as he said in a video posted to his Instagram story Saturday night. The FBI is now openly investigating the deaths and who is really responsible. Hopefully, they can answer the questions people have and provide closure to the families affected. 

The events that took place at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival were absolutely horrifying and not condonable. Most artists value human life above all else, and would not normalize events such as this. The deceased went to have fun, and they deserved to go home that night.