Travis Scott performing at the Astroworld music festival in November in Houston.
Photo: Amy Harris/Associated Press
Live Nation Entertainment Inc. LYV 2.36% is facing questions from lawmakers about its role in the tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival in November.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday said it is launching a bipartisan investigation into whether the world’s largest concert promoter did enough to ensure the safety of fans at the Houston-based festival where 10 people died and dozens were injured during a crowd surge. The lawmakers said finding out what went wrong could inform possible changes to prevent future tragedies.
“Recent reports raise serious concerns about whether your company took adequate steps to ensure the safety of the 50,000 concertgoers who attended Astroworld Festival,” Democratic and Republican leaders of the committee wrote in a letter to Live Nation Chief Executive Michael Rapino. “Reports indicate that security and medical staff were inexperienced or ill-equipped to deal with mass injuries. Some attendees stated that the placement of barricades made it difficult to escape. Experts have stated that Astroworld Festival organizers failed to heed warning signs.”
Live Nation said it was working with local authorities in their investigation and would also share information with the committee. “Safety is core to live events and Live Nation engages in detailed security planning in coordination with local stakeholders including law enforcement, fire and EMT professionals,” the company said in a statement, which reiterated sympathies for families and friends of the victims.
The committee asked that Live Nation respond to its questions in writing by Jan. 7.
A medical examiner said all 10 people who died at the music festival were crushed until they could no longer breathe.
Photo: Robert Bumsted/Associated Press
Last week, a Houston-area medical examiner said all 10 people who died at the festival were crushed until they could no longer breathe. Attendees at the concert described a crushing crowd surge that caused people to pass out in the chaos.
Police are still investigating what went wrong at the Nov. 5 concert. Mr. Scott, a Houston native, had previously been cited by police for encouraging rowdy behavior at his shows. He said he didn’t hear people’s screams for help and wasn’t fully aware of what was happening at his show until afterward.
Numerous lawsuits by attendees of the concert, injured people and families of the dead are pending against Mr. Scott, Live Nation and other organizers of the event.
Write to Anne Steele at [email protected]
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Appeared in the December 23, 2021, print edition as ‘House Panel Probes Concert Tragedy.’
