What Happened at the Astroworld Festival in Houston?

Houston Chronicle reporter Zach Despart and Detroit music promoter Dan McGowan discuss the Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas that left eight dead and dozens injured.

The Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas left eight dead and hundreds injured. A fatal crowd surge happened while rapper Travis Scott performed, completing his set even after local police declared the event a “mass casualty” event.

Houston Chronicle reporter Zach Despart is part of the team of reporters covering the story, which has already seen more than a dozen lawsuits filed and has left many questions still unanswered as fallout from the festival continues.

Despart joined Detroit concert promoter Dan McGowan, who operates The Crofoot Presents and has produced large-scale festivals, on CultureShift to talk about the tragedy, what questions remain and how the concert industry might respond.


Listen: Reporter Zach Despart, promoter Dan McGowan and callers discuss the Astroworld tragedy in Houston.

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Author

  • Ryan Patrick Hooper
    Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host and producer of CultureShift on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. Hooper has covered stories for the New York Times, NPR, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, SPIN and Paste magazine.