The Astroworld Tragedy: the true story behind the Travis Scott festival disaster where 10 people died

Cosmopolitan

18 hours ago

It was meant to be the festival of a lifetime; Travis Scott was performing on the large, mountain-esque 'Chills' stage, a lauded homecoming at the third Astroworld festival. Launched in 2018 and named after Scott's third album, the two-day music festival was planned as the ultimate celebration of Houston's hip-hop culture, and Scott's love of his hometown.
While the festival had been gaining in popularity, no-one could have predicted that its latest (and which soon proved to be final) outing would have resulted in one of the worst US concert tragedies in history.
Now Netflix's latest series, Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy, speaks to witnesses and emergency responders who were there on the day and looks to examine how an exciting evening became a living nightmare, resulting in 10 deaths, and over 300 causalities.
Astroworld Festival was the brainchild of psychedelic rapper Travis Scott, and took place annually. It was based in NRG Park in Houston, Texas, and named after a former theme-park that locals enjoyed going to in their childhoods.
Since launching in 2018, the festival had steadily grown in popularity, and was set to be bigger than ever in 2021; the event was now spanning two days, and had artists such as Tame Impala, Sza and Bad Bunny on the line-up. Tickets sold out in just 30 minutes.
Astroworld was now also comprised of two stages: the 'Thrills' stage for supporting artists, and the 'Chills' stage, which was specifically for Scott's headline performance. It was at the Chills stage where the crowd crush occurred.
Scott is a 34-year-old rapper, known for his psychedelic and intense performances, who has had five tracks hit number one in the United States. As well as working with huge hip-hop goliaths such as Kid Cudi, Scott is also known for dating Kylie Jenner between 2017 and 2023. The pair share two children together.
While 50,000 people were thought to be in attendance, there were reports of people trying to rush the gates as early as 2pm, with eyewitnesses reporting people being trampled on. However, it wasn't until later in the evening that casualties began to happen.
A timer appeared on stage counting down the 30 minutes before Scott performed. It was when Scott appeared, slightly later than scheduled at 9pm (he was reportedly meant to start at 8.45pm) that members of the crowd pressed forward and surged from the sides, causing a crush. Many people fell and others struggled to breathe as it was so tightly packed.
Describing the carnage, festival survivor Ayden Cruz remembers being pushed over by the crowds. In the documentary Astroworld: Countdown to Tragedy, he recalls climbing up to a camera operator and begging them to 'stop the show' as people were becoming increasingly crushed.
While Scott did stop performing numerous times to flag that people in the crowd had passed out and needed medical assistance, his show continued on until between 10.10pm and 10.15pm, according to witnesses, after he performed with Drake. However, a mass casualty incident was called from 9.38pm. Numerous festivalgoers tried to halt proceedings, however, none succeeded in getting Scott to stop.
Eight people died on the night in hospital, while a further two people died in hospital. The youngest person who passed away was just nine, while the oldest was 27. Two high schoolers are listed as victims.
It was ruled that all 10 people died from 'compression asphyxia' – this is where external force limits the ability of the chest to expand, cutting off oxygen.
The list of victims are as follows.
It wasn't until many of the 50,000 festivalgoers went home that they realised there had been fatalities in the crowds.
In the immediate aftermath, people were looking to see who was responsible for the deaths.
Scott took to X to say he was 'absolutely devastated' at learning of the incident following the concert. He also claimed that he was not aware of what was happening below the stage at the time.
'I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need,' he wrote. 'Thank you Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support.'
Then-girlfriend Kylie Jenner also deleted Instagram stories from the event, and sent 'thoughts and prayers' to those impacted.
A Texas state task force looked into what happened at Astroworld, which emphasised the need for adequate training for security and event staff.
Astroworld organisers were criticised for a lack of preparedness among security contracted to work the event.
Meanwhile, the head of safety at Astroworld, Seyth Boardman, wrote to the Texas festival's operations director expressing concern about the size of the stage. Per documents seen by the BBC, Boardman wrote: 'I feel like there is no way we are going to fit 50,000 people in front of that stage.'
Numerous lawsuits were filed by victims and survivors' families, alleging a lack of adequate safety protocols and emergency response to Scott, Live Nation and other defendants. However, by June 2024, all 10 wrongful death lawsuits had been settled out of court by Live Nation, Travis Scott, and other defendants for undisclosed amounts.
Scott was amongst six individuals who faced criminal charges related to the deaths of 10 people at the 2021 Astroworld Festival – however, a Texan grand jury found no single individual was criminally responsible for the death.
'In this instance, the grand jury of the 228th district court of Harris County found that no crime did occur,' county District Attorney Kim Ogg told reporters in 2023. 'That no single individual was criminally responsible.'
The festival was cancelled following reports of deaths. It has not been revived since.
Speaking about the event, Scott told GQ in 2023: '[I want people] to know I have pain too. I have concerns, things that I think about, and the things I see on a day-to-day basis I think about them. And every day I want to find change in the things, to make things better, make myself better. It's just like: I go through things like everyone else.'
Scott also launched Project HEAL, aimed at supporting community-based programs and enhancing safety measures at large-scale events.
Kimberley Bond is a Multiplatform Writer for Harper's Bazaar, focusing on the arts, culture, careers and lifestyle. She previously worked as a Features Writer for Cosmopolitan UK, and has bylines at The Telegraph, The Independent and British Vogue among countless others.