Astroworld 2021 was expected to be the best event of the year. Fans of Travis Scott, and other performers including 21 Savage, Lil Baby, SZA, Bad Bunny, Chief Keef, and Young Thug, paid $350 for a general admission ticket, plus a $71.35 concert fee for “a night in Utopia.”
Unfortunately, the night turned from perfect to tragic when hundreds of fans were injured and 10 fans died at the concert on Nov. 5 or succumbed to their their injuries sustained at the festival. It is incredibly disappointing to see the performers and the way they handled this devastating night.
The environment of Astroworld festival sold out very quickly. Fifty thousand tickets were sold in hours, and just about everyone of them showed up. The entire crowd was crammed together, and once Travis Scott made an appearance, the crowd rushed, trying getting as close to him as possible. Because of this, many people fell, got incredibly hot and were very uncomfortable. Water was provided to those who passed out or was willing to pay for it. Concert goers were not allowed to bring any outside food or drinks in, and with the insane prices, not very many people were willing to buy a water bottle. Because of this, it allowed even more people to pass out and reach serious and fatal injuries.
The victims who died ranged from the age of 9 to 27. Even without such a tragedy, it is incredibly shocking for someone to bring their 9-year-old child to such a crammed, hot and incredibly unsafe environment. These victims died from being trampled to death, heat strokes or suffocation. It was also rumored that the medics at the festival were untrained and in short supply. If medics got to the injured, the CPR was not effective in many cases.
While these victims were struggling to take their last breaths and facing the end of their lives, Travis Scott and his other performers continued to put on a show. As bodies were hitting the floor and lives were being lost, the sound of Travis Scott’s autotune put them to rest. It is very unprofessional to see this behavior, especially from such a successful artist who worked so hard to get where he is. Fans were coming on stage, begging the music to stop and nothing happened.
Travis Scott and his fellow performers and concert organizers should have been more prepared for this situation. It is not fair to those who paid such a large amount of money for an amazing night to just end up in the hospital with broken bones and plenty of bruises. To the concerts being planned after this Astroworld tragedy – they must take better safety precautions. Travis Scott has promised to cover all funeral costs of those who passed away, and he also gives out his most sincere apologies to those who lost a loved one. This is just not enough. It is too little too late to those who lost loved ones while the music kept playing.
