Christopher BarrettFollowing the deaths of eight people during Travis Scott’s performance at the Astroworld Festival at NRG Park in Houston on Friday, 5 November, the event’s promoter Live Nation and the artist are facing lawsuits and investigations into the incident.
A crowd crush shortly after 9pm, while Scott performed at the event in front of 50,000 people, left eight dead and at least 25 hospitalised. Survivors are now starting to take legal action over injuries they sustained during the incident. Among them is Kristian Parades, 23, who is seeking damages of $1m and accusing the event’s organisers and the artist of negligence.
Astroworld attendee Manuel Souza is suing Scott and organisers ScoreMore and Live Nation. In a petition filed in Harris County District Court, Souza’s lawyer Steve Kherkher stated, “Defendants failed to properly plan and conduct the concert in a safe manner. Instead, they consciously ignored the extreme risks of harm to concertgoers, and, in some cases actively encouraged and fomented dangerous behaviours.”
The mayor of Houston said he would “leave [no] stone unturned” in investigating the incident, and law enforcement officials in the city said a criminal investigation is underway and that they will be examining footage of the festival and the event’s layout in an attempt to establish what caused the crowd surge.
Following the incident, the event’s second and final days were cancelled. Scott, who both headlined and curated the festival, tweeted a message to fans in which he said he was “absolutely devastated” and that he will support the Houston Police Department’s investigation into the incident.
Scott was reportedly charged for disorderly conduct in 2017 after a show at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Arkansas. In 2015 he pleaded guilty to charges of reckless conduct after suggesting fans push through barriers and mount the stage at a Chicago festival.
Live Nation did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Access.