A new documentary about the 2021 Astroworld tragedy – where 10 people died and hundreds more were injured during Travis Scott‘s set at the festival – will be released this week, despite receiving pushback from promoter Live Nation.
Concert Crush: The Travis Scott Festival Tragedy is an independent film helmed by documentarian Charlie Minn. In a recent interview with the Associated Press, the director said his aim was not to create a “hit piece toward Travis Scott” when making the film.
“My job is to make the most truthful, honest, sincere documentary from the victims’ point of view,” he said. “We need to know about these stories to prevent it from happening again.”
Live Nation, however, has not approved the film’s release. The company is currently facing multiple lawsuits over its role in promoting Astroworld, while it has also been subject to a bipartisan investigation launched by US’ House Oversight and Reform Committee.
In a letter addressed to Texas state District Judge Kristen Hawkins – who, Billboard notes, is handling all pre-trial matters in the Astroworld lawsuits – Neal Manne and Kevin Yankowsky, two of the attorneys working on behalf of Live Nation, shared concerns that Concert Crush could have an impact on the outcome of the ongoing lawsuits.
“The involvement of plaintiffs’ lawyers in the film, and the publicity the filmmakers and producers are trying to generate for it raise significant issues about efforts to taint the jury pool,” Manne and Yankowsky wrote. The pair have not, however, taken any legal action against Minn, nor have they made any formal effort to block to block the release of Concert Crush.
Beginning this Friday (May 6), the film will screen in cinemas across 11 cities in Texas – including Houston, where the tragedy took place. A full list of the cities screening Concert Crush is available to view on the film’s website.
The film will include interviews with people who survived the crowd surge at Astroworld, as well as footage from the night that shows attendees repeatedly screaming for help. In a statement to the Associated Press, Frank Alvarez – who was in attendance at Astroworld, but does not appear in Concert Crush – supported the film’s release.
“It’s hard to explain to friends and family what we saw and what we actually went through,” he said, “and I think [Concert Crush] will give a lot of people the opportunity, if you weren’t there, to understand.”
Last month, Scott released his first song since Astroworld – a collaboration between himself, Future and 808 Mafia producer Southside titled ‘Hold That Heat’. The rapper has been making a slow comeback since the tragedy took place – he reportedly performed a short set at a private pre-Oscars party, and a brief DJ set at a Coachella afterparty.
Last month, he announced the launch of his multi-million dollar Project HEAL initiative, and said he would “always honor the victims of the Astroworld tragedy”. The rapper was, however, accused of violating a gag order by announcing the initiative. Scott is currently facing hundreds of combined lawsuits over the events that unfolded at Astroworld.
