What was supposed to be a night full of excitement and memories soon turned into a realm of chaos. Friday, Nov. 5, the annual Astroworld Festival was held at NRG Park in Houston. Starting at 2 p.m. on Friday, the festival ended early after the venue quickly met capacity.
Each Astroworld ticket cost around $500. When all was over, dozens of those in the audience would be severely injured, including nine who died in a crush of audience members against the stage at the Travis Scott concert.
Senior Adil Ashar attended the show with his brother. Scott, the main attraction, was set to perform around 9 p.m. Ashar was seated on the left side near the stage and said he didn’t experience any pain from the crowd surge. “To be honest, I was having a great time. My side of the crowd was fine,” he said.
Ashar said he didn’t experience much discomfort other than the obvious chest-to-chest discomfort. However, he said it’s common at festivals and concerts to be very close together. Ashar said he was able to witness many people sneak into the venue, which was part of the reason the crowd became so dangerous. “The venue might’ve been big enough for the initial amount of people but definitely not after more people snuck in,” Ashar said.
Ashar said he did not witness anyone pass out, due to the fact all of the casualties took place on the other side of the stage. “In recent events, like Rolling Loud, I saw more people pass out than Astroworld,” he said.
The more people that snuck into the park, the harder it got to breathe. People were unable to move around due to how crowded it had gotten. As more people rushed to the front of the stage, many attempted to stop the show by climbing the stage. “I wasn’t able to see the girl who was screaming at Travis, but I do know that the person she was trying to get attention from was working with Apple Music to record the show so, really, he can’t do anything,” Ashar said.
As more injuries occurred, the audience began to grow enraged that Scott was still performing. “I felt like it’s the only thing he can do since a) he can’t see or hear all 50k+ people especially in the dark with an earpiece in b) legally he can’t stop the show and c) he stopped it a couple of times to get people help. He probably didn’t know people had passed away until after the show since it’s common for people to pass out,” Ashar said.
Ashar said that leaving the show was more hectic. “It took like an hour to leave the park because of how packed it was and there were only two exits,” he said.
Ashar said overall he thinks it’s the crowd’s fault. “Plus, as I said, he can’t see or hear everyone, and it’s also the fans’ responsibility to be prepared and not take drugs before the show. Or even bringing kids who are 9 or 14 is pretty unacceptable in my opinion. Even though what happened was tragic and terrible, it still wasn’t solely one person’s fault,” Ashar said.
This experience hasn’t changed Ashar’s perspective on Scott too much. He even said that if he’s allowed to, he would love to go to another concert sometime soon. Ashar said he plans on keeping his Travis Scott merch. “If anything, it’s smarter to sell it than burn it,” he said.
Junior Maggie McCullough, who has been a huge fan of Scott since Birds came out, said his latest performance has changed her entire perspective on how she views him. “I was always surrounded by his music. When Astroworld came out, I was in eighth grade, and I literally skipped school the next day just to listen to his drop. I was like, obsessed. Anyways, after this, my thoughts have shifted dramatically. I don’t plan on listening to his new music, but I’m not going to stop listening to some of his old songs. As I said, I’ve been listening to Travis for a minute so I can’t help but have an attachment to a lot of his work. What happened was so awful; I will never look at him or his team the same,” she said.
McCullough said that it was ignorant of Travis to attend the after-party once his concert was over. The party at Dave and Buster’s was held immediately after the festival. Allegedly, Travis was unaware of the mass casualties at his show.
McCullough said that watching the leaked videos of the show made her fill up with dread, anxiety and panic. Not fully sure why he continued the performance, McCullough said, “he most likely did not understand the full severity of the situation, so that could be partly why.”
Although this situation was disastrous, McCullough said it hasn’t really changed her opinion of him as an artist. His music was present throughout a large part of her adolescence; however, she said she thinks he deserves the backlash he’s receiving. “He and his team weren’t prepared; now they must pay the price. Karma,” she said.
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