Concertgoers recall frightening experience at Travis Scott's Astroworld concert where ten people died. Photo courtesy of Shivani Galindo.
Travis Scott’s concerts have always been rowdy and full of rage. His concerts are often criticized for the reckless body surfing, roughness, and idea that you must “survive”, but people are supposed to be moshing and having a good time. Still, this concert felt different for veteran concertgoers. Survivors of Travis Scott’s Astroworld concert disaster, where ten people died, recalled the chaos in the crowd. Hours before Travis Scott even took the stage people were pushing and shoving each other.
John Guaillas, a 22-year-old from Queens, New York, and his nine friends flew into the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas with high expectations for the Astroworld Festival.
They had seen Travis Scott perform before and were fans of the mosh pits filled with people having fun. “Being in the mosh pit is a great feeling especially at a Travis Scott concert but this one… this one wasn’t a normal one. It felt overpacked and ‘the rage,’ as what Travis Scott fans call it, wasn’t there. I wouldn’t even call it a mosh pit, it was more like a crowd surge because there were a lot of first-timers who only wanted to be in the front,” John said.
John and his friends sensed trouble as soon as they arrived at NRG Park to buy Astroworld t-shirts and hoodies before the event began. Security let people in to shop, but some started to jump the barricades and race to the front of the line. Houston police officers stood in the front to keep the barricades in place. After purchasing their merchandise, John and his friends separated and waited all day for Travis Scott to get on stage.
Joshua Cabrera, part of the group from Queens, also came ready to mosh and have a good time. The 26-year-old and two other friends spent the day hanging around the carnival games. Their other friends spent their time at the main stage, called “The Mountain.”
Twenty minutes before the show, Joshua made his way to the stage, “We saw there was so many people, as expected, but we decided to hang out near VIP because we had already seen Travis so many times. We just wanted to chill and listen,” he said. “The next thing we knew the lights dimmed a little and people began to rush forward, while some music was playing. We noticed the crowd started to get closer and closer trying to squeeze in to see Travis,” he said.
Joshua said he noticed a man jump over the barricade to get into the VIP section without security stopping him. “Me, my boys, and just about everyone else hanging by us jumped over the gate into VIP. Within 10 seconds I was already like 10 rows back from the stage. We were chilling, had plenty of space but knew it was not going to last long,” he said.
Minutes before Travis got on stage, a countdown appeared on the screens and the crowd became more excited with anticipation.
At this time, another member of the Queens group, Eric Sumba, was near the back having a different experience. The 22-year-old said, “The energy of the crowd wasn’t the same from my previous experience at his other shows.”
Although he was close to the stage Eric tried to move forward and fell on a pile of people who were yelling in agony. He reached out to the guy in front of him and asked for help getting up. He couldn’t breathe. “There was this one time where I was super exhausted and couldn’t breathe from all the hot air and sweat surrounding me. I started thinking about going to the back but at the same time I was telling myself not to leave,” said Eric.
A golf cart with medics eventually made its way towards his area and created space for him to catch his breath. Eric lost his friends in the crowd and thought he should stay and assist others. He wanted to protect himself, but he also wanted to find a way to enjoy the show he paid to see.
When Travis Scott finally appeared, the mass cries for help began. “As soon as Travis came out for his first song, a lot of people started asking security to help them out because they couldn’t breathe and weren’t feeling okay,” John said.
John was concerned for the safety of others, so he helped people get out. “The people around me did receive proper help to get out of the pit, but that’s only because they were close to the barricade. On the other hand, the people in the back did not get proper help, with the mass amount of people it was impossible for security to get them out,” said John. “Seeing all of this happen made me realize that no one was ready for what was going to happen that night. No one expected a lot of people to ask for help or seek medical attention. Everyone thought it was just a regular festival and expected it to be fun.”
When Eric, John, Joshua, and their friends went back to the Airbnb, they were all in shock. They watched videos, the news and scrolled through the tweets about what happened. Joshua learned that one of the people he saw passed out in the crowd had died that same night.
At one point during the night “Travis stopped the show and told people not to touch the individual. The paramedics jumped into the crowd and took the person away,” he said. “It felt horrible seeing videos of a bunch of idiots jumping on top of golf carts, seeing them argue with paramedics to let them get on, it was a mess.”
Eric, John, and Joshua hope that Travis Scott continues his tour. They believe concert organizers, fans, and local law enforcement should reflect on their contribution to the chaos. “That night is everyone’s fault, from the fans to the medical staff, to security, to organizers, to the Houston police, all the way to Travis Scott. Everyone is at fault. I just hope this experience never happens again,” John said.
