The two-day long Astroworld festival, organized by Live Nation, began on Friday, November 5th. This supposedly exciting concert quickly turned deadly when the crowd of 50,000 people surged toward the stage, crushing and suffocating others. Which resulted in ten confirmed deaths and dozens of injured. The tragedy raised question to the readiness of security and paramedics, how Scott handled the situation, and even conspiracies involving satanic cults. 

“It seems like the security and medics were really unprepared. And if they hadn’t been then maybe people wouldn’t have died,” John Venn (‘23) said.  

Venn has attended two concerts in the past, but with smaller venues and better security, so he understands the necessity of proper protection. Had there been stronger supervision, officers could have prevented the surge from happening, provided medical aid quicker, and communicate with the performers to stop the show sooner. 

“When I went to a Trippie Redd concert I had to get out of the mosh pit because it got hard to breathe and move,” Kayla Karas (‘23) said. “Travis should’ve helped the people who were struggling and told everyone to give them space”. 

Scott received a lot of criticism for his response videos. His lack of eye contact and short conversation has caused accusations of absurd offenses and fueled lawsuits against him. Many believe he’s unsympathetic of the situation and may have purposefully allowed the devastation to occur.   

These rumors are flying around TikTok stating that Travis considered the deaths as a sacrificial practic. There are arguments that he partakes in satanic cults, and he incorporated demonic references during the performance. The stage set up and things he said during his performance fueled the judgement. 

“And here’s your rapper, gods, and we’re going to make a sacrifice to the gods,” Scott said.  

“I don’t think the conspiracy theories are true and it’s inconsiderate to the families who lost loved ones at the concert,” Julia Devaney (’22) said.  

Devaney attended a Trippie Redd concert recently as well but doesn’t recall any references to Satan and still stands that these accusations are false. Many of Hollywood’s stars are associated with deep crimes like cults, but this may be the occasion that discloses it all. 

Andrew Larkin (‘24) went to a J. Cole concert in October and after hearing about the losses at the Astroworld festival, he plans to focus harder on his safety at future performances. 

“In the future I would definitely be more cautious and prepared. Like bringing and drinking water before the concert to prevent passing out,” Larkin said.  

To honor the ones who died, everyone should concentrate on their own health and safety at big public gatherings to prevent situations like these from happening again.  

Confirmed deaths:

Franco Patiño, 21

Danish Baig, 27

Bharti Shahani, 22 

John Hilgert, 14

Jacob Jurinek, 20

Ezra Blount, 9 

Brianna Rodriguez, 16

Axel Acosta, 21 

Rudy Peña, 23

Madison Dubiski, 23