Disaster at Astroworld festival leads to controversy on who deserves blame

By: Sam Kersh

Travis Scott performing at the Astroworld festival Nov. 5, 2021.

Travis Scott’s concerts have always been special - they are chaotic, loud, and intense. This culture has been consistent in his performances, but, somehow, everyone always makes it out alive. So why were 10 lives (and counting) lost Friday, Nov. 5 at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, TX?

The truth is, numerous people and groups are at fault. But ultimately, none of those should include Travis Scott.

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​Knowing the environment of the Astroworld festival and type of crowd, one can only imagine what it is like to be performing. However, Kevaris Gregory, a fan of Scott’s, was invited on stage during the performance. He gave the Houston Chronicle a first hand look on why Scott was most likely unaware of the situation unfolding:

“Nothing seemed wrong to me at all. With the adrenaline and just how the concert’s going, you’re not thinking. You do see the lights, but you can’t tell what is what out there. If someone’s screaming, you can’t decipher ‘Help!’ from ‘Travis’!”

Therefore, it would be completely incorrect to say Scott was aware of the situation unfolding and chose to ignore the safety of his fans. In the past, Scott has commonly paused his performances and allowed concert officials to attend to injured members of the crowd.

In fact, on that Friday night, Scott stopped the show multiple times when he witnessed injured fans near the stage, or when an ambulance drove through waves of people.

"Anytime I can make out what's going on, I stop the show and help them get the help they need," Scott said. "I could just never imagine the severity of the situation."

Scott’s words make sense - imagine you are a performer in an environment like the Astroworld festival. Don’t you think it would be a little difficult to make out what’s going on in such a loud, chaotic crowd?

The crowd at the Astroworld festival on November 5, 2021.

Ultimately, the tragedy could have been prevented from the beginning. When the Hillsborough disaster took the lives of 97 innocent football fans in 1989, England immediately took action to prevent such an event from ever occurring again. It is shameful that these precautions have not been taken at large-scale events in America.

It’s time to see this tragedy from all perspectives. Travis Scott should not be blamed, but moving forward, festivals should not be a potential death sentence.