Astroworld: Changing the Culture and Trajectory of Festivals
Image Courtesy: Insider
When the festival began, a swarm of 50,000 people squished together like sardines within the barricades. You couldn’t tell where one person ended and the next began. If you were amongst the crowd, chaos seemed contagious. There was everything except for air and free space. With nine lives lost, over one hundred people injured, and over one hundred lawsuits against Travis Scott, this chronic case of herd mentality could change the way concerts and festivals are run in the future.
Image Courtesy: Vulture
From what it seems, the first thing amongst many that went wrong at Astroworld Festival was the security at the entrance. The lack of security led to an overwhelming gray area in solving what exactly happened in the mass of people. For one, there are claims of letting fans in without tickets. This surplus of audience members caused an overflow of people, which explains the cramming throughout the crowd. Additionally, attendees have come forward with the claim that security slacked on checking bags and enforcing the clear bag policy. This led to an outstanding question of if there were audience members injecting others with drugs; and if this also led to the behavior of the crowd. Despite some unsolved variables, chaos at the gate was expected, which opens up another question for Travis Scott in not advising his fanbase more wisely, as he has been known to encourage chaos and even rage.
Image Courtesy: Houstonia Magazine
Video performances of artists like SZA, Harry Styles, and Adele have gone viral in the wake of the festival, demonstrating how artists should handle rowdy crowds and the instances of fans fainting. In one of SZA’s personal performances following the event, she states “People want to make excuses about how people pass out at concerts all the time… but people don’t die at concerts all the time. Some things end up shifting and shaping and changing the way you do sh*t forever. And it’s a good thing.” Although it seems like basic human decency, she then provided the general admission audience with water, which is a lot more care than most artists give nowadays.
There are minor things that could make a big impact in which Astroworld has changed artist and fan mentality. More care and patience are already being shown, as people are realizing that concerts are not the place for “rage,” which Travis Scott has been known to encourage in his audiences. Astroworld Festival could end up landing the artist another charge or even arrest for disorderly conduct or inciting a riot. It would not be the first time, following his 2015 and 2017 charges.
The Astroworld Festival events were a wake-up call to artists that take a hands-off approach to plan their shows. This has exposed a lot of money-hungry tendencies of the music industry, for oftentimes event organizers and other artist team members see fans as merely a pocketed ticket number. The festival’s events will hopefully change the overall atmosphere and thought that goes into planning concerts. Music should have the reputation of inciting peace, not riots.
Strike Out,
Writer: Alyson Brinkley
Editors: Noelle Knowlton & Lexi Fernandez
Graphics: Madison Sloan
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