On November 5th, 2021 in Houston, Texas, 50,000 people went to Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival. They were looking forward to the night of their lives, seeing artists such as Tale Impala, SZA, Drake, and the headliner of the festival, Travis Scott. Little did they know of the horrific sights they would witness at this concert.

   Astroworld began as any other festival. Fans enjoyed listening to the smaller artists, but the real horror began closer to Travis Scott’s set at the concert. 

   What happened can be best described as a human stampede. People were being trampled as the crowd rushed towards the stage, suffocating others in their attempt to get as close as possible to Scott. Before Scott even started performing, the event was a disaster.

   Travis Scott’s performance amplified this chaos. Mosh pits were forming in every direction, and people began to pass out. Travis Scott briefly stopped his performance when he noticed an ambulance in the crowd. But instead of heeding the crowd’s cries to stop the show, he kept on performing.

   Hundreds of people were injured Friday night, and eight people were killed as a result of the concert. But why does this happen?

   Mob mentalities can be seen throughout humanity. The Salem Witch Trials, the Boston Massacre, and even modern-day sports games and concerts demonstrate the mob mentality deeply engraved in the human mind. Humans will follow the crowd; creating uncontrollable, illogical chaos, and creating a sense of mass hysteria in the community as an effect. This is clearly seen in the events of the Salem Witch Trials, the Boston Massacre, and most recently, the Astroworld festival.

   The crazed fans looked like the embodiment of a mob mentality. People were dancing on top of the bodies of those who had passed out, acting like crazed lunatics. No one had their own conscience, following the crowd and creating a sort of horrific hivemind.

   Humans are also incredibly selfish, as seen in Scott’s response to the ambulance in the crowd. Instead of stopping the concert and being attentive to his fans passing out left and right, Scott continued to perform for the crowd. He had the power to save lives, but he gave it up for a paycheck.

   The events of Astroworld will not be forgotten. Many are left traumatized after seeing their friends and  family members die as the result of a careless artist and a mob mentality. We can only hope that this will act as a learning lesson for future music artists, to have better crowd control and care for their fans.