After Astroworld fatalities, Travis Scott offers refunds and cancels Day N Vegas gig
After last week’s crowd-crush tragedy at Houston’s Astroworld Festival, rapper Travis Scott has reportedly pulled out of this weekend’s Day N Vegas festival in Las Vegas and will refund all ticket fees for Astroworld.
Friday’s incident, which occurred during Scott’s headlining set at NRG Park, claimed eight lives from ages 14 to 27, with scores more injured. Sources told Variety that Scott was “too distraught to play,” though several attendees are already suing Scott, fellow rapper Drake and Live Nation, Astroworld’s promoter.
Representatives for Live Nation did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. AEG Presents, Day N Vegas’ promoter, declined to comment on Scott’s status at the festival. The show’s other headliners include Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, the Creator.
The on-site investigator at the deadly 1979 Who concert said that festival seating and crowd density may have contributed to the Astroworld tragedy.
“Any time I could make out anything that was going on, I’d stop the show and help them get the help they need,” said Scott in a video posted Saturday. “I could never imagine the severity of the situation.”
Houston police initially declared a “mass casualty” event at Astroworld at 9:38 p.m. Friday, 32 minutes after Scott went onstage, but Scott completed his 25-song setlist at 10:15 p.m.
Thomas J. Henry, an attorney representing concertgoer Kristian Paredes of Austin, said in a statement announcing his suit against Scott, Drake, Live Nation and NRG Stadium agent Harris County Sports & Convention Corp. that “live musical performances are meant to inspire catharsis, not tragedy.
“Many of these concert-goers were looking forward to this event for months, and they deserved a safe environment in which to have fun and enjoy the evening,” he added. “Instead, their night was one of fear, injury, and death.”
“There is no excuse for the events that unfolded,” says a Texas attorney suing rappers Travis Scott and Drake as well as Live Nation.
A second lawsuit, from concertgoer Manuel Souza, names Scott, Live Nation and concert promoter ScoreMore.
Scott has twice faced criminal charges from inciting crowds into wild behavior at previous concerts, including a 2015 performance at Lollapalooza and a 2017 show in Arkansas. Video from Friday’s Astroworld performance showed desperate fans screaming to stop the concert, as an ambulance drove into the crowd while Scott performed.
Scott, one of hip-hop’s biggest stars, has in part built his reputation through his volatile live shows. He has been charged previously with inciting a riot.
In the meantime, Live Nation’s stock, just beginning to bounce back from pandemic-era lows, dropped as much as 8% on Monday morning after the tragedy.
Live Nation said in a statement on Saturday that it was “heartbroken for those lost and impacted at Astroworld last night. We will continue working to provide as much information and assistance as possible to the local authorities as they investigate the situation.”
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