By: Christopher Williams (’25), Staff Writer
As more time passes since the Astroworld incident in Houston, Texas, increasingly devastating details continue to be uncovered.
According to reporting by NPR, the death toll has tragically risen to ten. More evidence suggests that the crush was preventable as well. Darius Williams, a security guard, revealed to CNN he quit his job immediately before the event when he realized workers were not adequately trained.
The combination of overcrowding, unruly spectators, and poor employee training left ten families mourning after loved ones expected to have the times of their lives. After taking some time to reflect, UNC students with similar concert experiences shared how they stay safe and reconsidered their own time in crowds.
Samarth Rao is a first-year at UNC-Chapel Hill. As a Travis Scott fan himself, he attended previous Astroworld concerts in Houston. After going in 2019, he had planned to return in the future with his cousin. Rao is now reconsidering after seeing the festival become such a disaster.
Rao attributes the chaos at some live music events to “high energy, high tempo music” and “new age rap artists with mosh pits.” He went on to specifically list Playboi Carti and Ski Mask the Slump God as other artists whose performances get out of control.
Yakob Lemma and Jaleah Taylor are two other UNC first-years that attended Playboi Carti’s October 15 concert together in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their perspectives and experiences corroborate much of Rao’s theory.
Taylor felt that the worst of the concert actually occurred before fans had entered the stadium.
“The most insane part was definitely getting into the building, like, there was a lot of pushing, a lot of shoving. Honestly at some points it was hard to breathe, or hard to stand up,” she explained.
Fans’ overcrowding eventually became one of Taylor’s worries as she described metal detectors being toppled while fans snuck in.
Although he was not at this event himself, Rao cited weak security measures as one of his general concerns about attending concerts in the future.
“At that point, if I was at that concert, I would not have went in. Anything could happen. Somebody could have shot it up,” Rao said.
Taylor and Lemma did say they went on to enjoy the Playboi Carti concert after safely arriving inside. Taylor vividly described the mosh pit that helped make the night so memorable. Lemma detailed a similar scene, but felt more panicked as the intensity picked up.
“Once everyone broke in, I lost… like EVERYONE else,” Lemma said. “The good thing was the rest of my friends were together. I had my arm around my boy and we just made sure we were holding each other the whole time.”
Despite the fears raised after the disaster in Houston, both Lemma and Taylor believed they would continue attending concerts. Both did still agree that more restrictions and stronger enforcement were necessary.
Rao, however, mentioned he won’t feel safe without significant changes to the operations of venues such as the one Scott’s concert was held in. He said the crowds of tens of thousands of people have always made him nervous, and he won’t return if planners don’t critically alter their current systems.
Still, all three music fans agreed that they would never take a younger sibling or any child with them to a similar show.
Taylor in particular completely opposed the idea. “One hundred percent no. That, no. I’m like, what, 5’5” now, being short, there’s a lot of tall people at concerts obviously. But let alone a child, especially into floor seating. Never.”
Finally, both Taylor and Lemma had some tips for anyone planning to enjoy live music in such a high-energy environment.
Taylor began. “I go to concerts with a fully charged [phone] battery because I know at the end I’m gonna have to call my ride…. Also… checking the vibe. Things can pop off… a lot of the time there’s alcohol or drugs involved, just keep an eye out… I would recommend trying to stay with a friend the whole night if you can.”
Lemma had his own advice as well. “Really, my number one tip is ‘have a friend with you.’ … Having someone with you is so important because you need someone else to look out for you…. Number two, I would say, know your limits. Know when to get out of there. Definitely do not try to push yourself at all. And number three, if anything, do your research as well, know what you’re getting into,” he explained.
The disaster that happened during the Astroworld Festival was a tragedy, and nobody wants a similar situation to happen again. People should be able to enjoy music from their favorite artists without being put in danger or experiencing trauma. Hopefully, this advice will help you safely enjoy the next concert you attend. Stay safe, and thank you for reading!