On November 5, 2021, a fatal crowd crush occurred during the Astroworld Festival, an annual musical event hosted by American rapper Travis Scott at NRG Park in Houston, Texas.

[14] The initial version of the event-operations plan prepared by ScoreMore contained eventualities such as deaths, traumatic injuries, severe weather, an active shooter, civil unrest, lost persons, missing children, and unruly fans.

[22] From approximately 9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., numerous checkpoints, including the festival's main-entrance gate and a COVID-19-testing site were breached and bypassed prior to the grounds' first opening at 10 a.m., with no immediate evidence of recovery or the number of people who entered.

According to multiple eyewitness accounts, authority figures at the entrances or on the grounds abandoned wristbanding, pat-downs, and directional posts, and later that night alcohol and drugs were seen in the possession of numerous attendees, especially in the merchandise section.

[16][36][37] According to HPD logs, by approximately 8:52 p.m. nearly 300 people had been treated, which ParaDocs CEO Pollak later said was not unusual in his practice for a crowd that size; he mentioned only two transports to hospitals by that point, which he described as a minimal total in comparison to his past work.

NRG Park Manager Miller later told HCSCC Chairman of the Board Edgar Colón in a meeting on November 17 Live Nation's scanner report indicated only 37,858 attendees with scanned tickets on the property.

[35][40][41][42] At approximately 9:35 p.m., a graduate assistant attending the concert who also worked as a firefighter and EMT confirmed their inability to find a pulse on a 22-year-old woman whose skin had turned grayish-blue as a result of cyanosis, and he attempted to revive her by pumping her chest while getting another attendee to breathe air into her lungs.

Relieved two ParaDocs medics had attended the scene by approximately 9:42 p.m., he quickly realized they had no oxygen bag or defibrillator, being told they had run out; the graduate assistant watched with horror as one's compression were not properly implemented while the other's backboard had no straps.

Even for trapped concertgoers who remained upright, a local internal medicine physician told Houston Chronicle those who could not expand their diaphragms, leading to blood flow to be restricted to the brain and heart, likely died within minutes as a result of cardiac arrest.

[46] Disregarding protocol prohibitive to personal harm, an EMT contracted with ParaDocs described on TikTok they had to reject desperate concertgoers grabbing him to assist others he knew were likely dead; music was too loud for radio traffic to be heard and a crowd that did not care about those around them.

[48] Several attendees told KTRK-TV, the local owned-and-operated ABC station in Houston, that the piles of people in some areas became two bodies deep, and that some tried to help, only to be sucked further into the crowd.

[51] Two guests in the rear disabled-accessible section told the Houston Chronicle they saw 50 to 60 people climbing two stories up onto the concert's projection screens with exposed wiring to escape the crush or for better views that were not stopped by authorities.

[66][67][68] By 2:13 a.m., a reunification area for missing persons had been set up at the Wyndham Houston Hotel and in a press conference at NRG Park, authorities announced the incident's initial death toll of eight victims.

[70][71][72] Two days after the crush, a makeshift memorial was created on a chain-link fence outside the festival area, where people left tributes that included prayer candles, flowers, pictures of the deceased, and stuffed animals.

He also said he did not know about the deaths until minutes before the authorities' press conference the morning after the incident, and that he had not heard fans screaming for him to stop the concert, citing his ear-piece, and expressed regret about his initial Instagram video apology before more information was made public, and that he understood plaintiffs' refusal of his offer to cover funeral costs.

The next day, representatives for four other victims who died said they had also rejected or ignored similar offers from Scott's old and new legal teams, describing the gestures as demeaning attempts to lessen public pressure rather than a genuine display of remorse.

This offer was criticized as insufficient, inauthentic and exploitative given its limit, and an opportunity for future sponsorship for Scott; and cited BetterHelp's past privacy controversies and its notice of the unsuitability of its services for minors, despite most of the concert attendees being teenagers.

[100][79][81][101][102][103][excessive citations] By November 18, reports arose online of rumors from several concertgoers saying any right to participate in a class-action lawsuit or arbitration against Live Nation would have to be waived if they wished to receive a ticket refund, with their only option being a company settlement outside of court.

[117] A controversy with the streaming service arose on December 1 following the couple's decision to post and then remove the same day a news special from KTRK-TV titled "Astroworld: Concert from Hell".

[120][121][122] That day, Palm Springs, California, ABC affiliate KESQ reported on a Change.org petition calling for Scott's removal from the 2022 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, for which he was a headliner.

[135] The Governor's Task Force on Concert Safety that was formed after the incident issued its final report on April 19, 2022; it recommended a solution to permit loopholes as a result of discrepancies between Harris County and the City of Houston; a standardized event-permitting process for the state of Texas that had earlier led to "forum shopping" across event promoters; a universal permitting template with a standardized checklist for counties to consult before issuing them; unique contingency plans for events fans could easily breach, stampede, or overcrowd; clearly outlined triggers for pausing or canceling shows; integration of local first responders in the unified on-site command and control; and greater prioritization of resources, application and training in risk management for staff and promoters in future events.

[143] On November 8, a judge issued a limited freeze order to pause cleanup of the site, allowing victims' lawyers to investigate and take photographs, and requiring organizers to preserve remaining evidence after an agreement was reached with defendants, clarifying it did not entirely waive their legal defenses.

[166] Videos of other concerts being paused by artists such as Kurt Cobain, Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Dave Grohl, ASAP Rocky, Chris Martin, Mike Shinoda, and Lil Pump to address safety concerns and medical emergencies soon went viral in response to the Astroworld Festival crowd crush.

[167][168][169] Less than a week later, artist SZA, who finished her set at Astroworld at about 8:30 p.m. prior to Scott's countdown, stopped her concert in Salt Lake City due to someone fainting in the audience, insisting her team bring them water, and arguing during the break for a culture shift for future shows.

[38][29] HFD Deputy Chief Isaac Garcia, who had lobbied for years with his union to mandate a greater presence of firefighters at large events, told USA Today a lack of radio communication and planning left them to assume ParaDocs was being overrun, at which point their recovery efforts would come too late and would likely have been pointless.

[171] The attorneys of the injured and traumatized security guards stated in court documents that their hiring companies lied about their compensation and failed to provide a safe workplace or basic training.

[172] Over 50 defendants were involved,[173] including Travis Scott and Drake (as Drake joined Scott in his headline set),[174] Scott's company Jack Enterprises (as well as personal foundation and label Cactus Jack), the concert's streamer Apple Music, concert promoters (including Live Nation Entertainment, The Bowery Presents LLC and ScoreMore Holdings LLC), venues and security firms (including ASM Global, XX Global Inc., AJ Melino & Associates, Contemporary Services Corporation, ParaDocs Worldwide, Strike Force Protective Services, NRG Energy, NRG Park, Valle Security Services, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group and the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation), other record labels behind production (Epic Records and Grand Hustle Records), and various other producers, promoters, subcontractors, and public relations officials.

[181] As of December 3, 2021, more than 275 civil wrongful death, personal injury, and premises liability lawsuits had been filed from more than 12 law firms, including attorneys Benjamin Crump[182] and Tony Buzbee,[183] representing more than 1,250 people seeking billions in damages.

[18][176] On December 6, attorney Brent Coon and crowd-surge expert G. Keith Still announced a lawsuit on behalf of another 1,547 concertgoers seeking a further $10 billion in damages, calling for legislation to mandate both certification of events from crowd-control specialists, training for workers, and stricter criminal liability for errors in live entertainment.

[195] Lawyers for Live Nation said in an April 8 filing the documentary Concert Crush: The Travis Scott Festival Tragedy could taint the jury pool if released as planned in several Texas cities.