The House Oversight Committee has announced on Wednesday that they will be launching a bipartisan investigation into the tragedy of Travis Scott’s Astroworld musical festival in November that left 10 people dead and many others injured.
Republican and Democratic leaders on the committee send a letter to Michael Rapino, the president and chief executive officer of Live Nation Entertainment Inc, the company that promoted the Astroworld concert. The panel said that the company is responsible for the festival’s “planning, staffing, putting up money, securing permits, finding vendors, and communicating with local agencies.”
“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,” wrote the members of the committee, chaired by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y.
The lawmakers also cited reports about security and medical staff being “inexperienced or ill-equipped to deal with mass injuries.” They continued by saying, “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.”
Members of the committee said that the tragedy in Houston comes after a series of other events and safety violations involving Live Nation, noting that the company has previously been fined or sued over safety issues at other events.
“We are deeply saddened by the deaths that occurred at Astroworld Festival and are committed to investigating what went wrong to inform possible reforms that could prevent future tragedies,” the members said.
Scott has received immense online backlash over the tragedy. Many claimed that he is somewhat at fault for not stopping the concert and encouraging fans who did not purchase tickets to storm the venue, which led to overcrowding and panic in the audience.
Several other lawsuits have been filed against Scott guest performer Drake, promoter Live Nation as well as individuals affiliated with NRG Park and ScoreMore Holding.
