Travis Scott refunding Astroworld attendees

Scott has canceled an appearance in Vegas

Travis Scott is refunding all ticket purchasers to Astroworld Festival in Houston following Friday’s tragedy that resulted in eight deaths and dozens of injuries. Variety reports the rapper has also canceled his appearance at this weekend’s Day N Vegas Festival because he is “too distraught to play.”

Multiple lawsuits have stemmed from the event with Scott, Live Nation and rapper Drake, among others, named as defendants. Plaintiffs are seeking at least $1 million in damages each due to negligence and gross negligence. The lawsuits claim the rappers incited the crowd that night, and suggests they were responsible for the massive surge towards the stage that resulted in disaster. The lawsuits also cite lack of patrons’ health and safety caused the “predictable and preventable tragedy.”

At least one suit claims that organizers “made the conscious decision to let the show go on, despite the extreme risk of harm to concertgoers that was escalating by the moment” following the arrival of emergency personnel on site to attend to those who had “suffered serious obvious injury.” Scott performed his 75 minute set as scheduled that also featured Drake during the final songs.

Another lawsuit reads, “Reports indicate a crowd surged the stage of the Travis Scott concert when rapper Drake made an unannounced appearance on stage. The surge soon resulted in chaos as concert-goers were pushed into one another and the crowd pressed its way forward. Travis Scott and Drake continued to perform even as emergency vehicles arrived and responders attempted to rescue those in distress.”

“Live musical performances are meant to inspire catharsis, not tragedy,” states Texas attorney Thomas J. Henry. “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. Instead, their night was one of fear, injury, and death.”

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner defends the decision to let the show play out fearing a riot if it was abruptly called. Finner claims the 528 security guards on hand should’ve been sufficient to handle the crowd of 50,000 under normal circumstances. The show was stopped multiple times as emergency personnel fought through the chaos to attend to those in need.

Finner confirms he spoke with Scott before his performance to express the “energy of the crowd.” He says he never advised the rapper to end the show, but he did ask Scott and his team to be mindful of social media messages regarding unscheduled events, according to TMZ.

Houston police are investigating cases of drug injections that may have led to some of the deaths that ranged in age from 14 to 27. Finner says a security officer felt a prick in the neck before losing consciousness, but was revived after medical staff administered Narcan. They also noticed a needle size mark in his neck.

Scott has also announced that he will cover all funeral costs and provide further aid for individuals affected by the November 5th tragedy. In addition, Scott has partnered with BetterHelp to supply free one-on-one online therapy, and is working closely with NAMI, MHA National, and MHA of Greater Houston (Mental Health America) to direct all those in need to proper mental health services. Travis remains in active conversations with the city of Houston, law enforcement and local first responders to respectfully and appropriately connect with the individuals and families of those involved. These are the first of many steps Scott plans on taking as a part of his personal vow to assist those affected throughout their grieving and recovery process.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com