Coachella 2022: Petition calls for removal of Travis Scott from Goldenvoice events after deadly concert crowd surge

An online petition is calling on Coachella organizers Goldenvoice and Paul Tollett to remove rapper Travis Scott from music festivals after a deadly crowd surge at his concert in Houston.

Tollett confirmed that Travis Scott would return to the Coachella stage when discussing the music festival's return to the Empire Polo Club in Indio in 2022 with the LA Times. The festival is scheduled for the weekends of April 15-17 and April 22-24 of next year.

Signers of the petition ask Goldenvoice, Paul Tollett, and AEG to take Scott out of any planned performances.

With the recent tragic and unnecessary death at Travis Scott’s Astroworld concert, due to Scott’s own gross negligence and sheer lack of compassion for human life, we ask AEG, Paul Tollet, and Goldenvoice to remove his as performer at all of their festivals.  

Change.org petition

The petition has gathered thousands of signatures in support of the change. As of midday Monday, there was no official statement from Goldenvoice.

Monday morning, Variety reported that Travis Scott would be dropping out of Day N Vegas, a Goldenvoice music festival set to take place on Nov 12-14, 2021.

Travis Scott speaks out after Astroworld Festival tragedy

Rapper and producer Travis Scott, the organizer of the Astroworld Festival in Houston where at least eight people died Friday night, gave his first on-camera statement in a video posted to his Instagram account Saturday night.

“I’m honestly just devastated,” Scott said as he repeatedly sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“We’re actually working right now to identify the families so we can help assist them through this tough time,” said Scott.

MORE: Travis Scott speaks out after Astroworld Festival tragedy

“Our hearts are with the Astroworld festival family tonight — especially those we lost and their loved ones,” Astroworld organizers said in a statement Saturday. “We are focused on supporting local officials however we can.”

Scott, a native of Houston, has multiple philanthropic projects in the community geared toward providing resources to city youth. The third annual festival, part of a week of charitable activities where Scott and partners unveiled several education and park beautification projects, is named after his 2018 album “Astroworld.”

“My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival,” Scott tweeted Saturday. “Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life.”

The investigation

 Investigators are expected to examine the design of safety barriers and the use of crowd control in determining what led to a crush of spectators at a Houston music festival that left eight people dead and hundreds more injured.

Authorities planned to use videos, witness interviews and a review of concert procedures to figure out what went wrong Friday night during a performance by rapper Travis Scott. The tragedy unfolded when the crowd rushed the stage, squeezing people so tightly they couldn’t breathe.

City officials said they were in the early stages of investigating what caused the pandemonium at the sold-out Astroworld festival, an event founded by Scott. About 50,000 people were there.

MORE: Within minutes, the Astroworld Festival turned deadly. Here’s what we know about the show’s timeline.

Authorities said that among other things, they will look at how the area around the stage was designed.

Steven Adelman, vice president of the industry group Event Safety Alliance, which was formed after the collapse of a stage at the Indiana State Fair in 2011 killed seven people, helped write industry guidelines widely used today.

Besides looking at safety barriers and whether they correctly directed crowds or contributed to the crush of spectators, Adelman said, authorities will look at whether something incited the crowd besides Scott taking the stage.

Adelman said another question is whether there was enough security there, noting there is a nationwide shortage of people willing to take low-wage, part-time security gigs.

EXPLAINER: Why crowd surges can kill people

Contemporary Services Corp., headquartered in Los Angeles, was responsible for security staff at the festival, according to county records in Texas. Representatives for the company — which advertises online as being “recognized worldwide as the pioneer, expert and only employee owned company in the crowd management field” — did not immediately respond to emails and phone messages seeking comment.

Houston police and fire department officials said their investigation will include reviewing video taken by concert promoter Live Nation, as well as dozens of clips from people at the show.

Officials also planned to review the event’s security plan and various permits issued to organizers to see whether they were properly followed. In addition, investigators planned to speak with Live Nation representatives, Scott and concertgoers.

Izabella Ramirez of Texas City was celebrating her 21st birthday and said that once Scott came on stage, no one could move.

“Everybody was squishing in, and people were trying to move themselves to the front. You couldn’t even lift up your arms,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez said a security guard pulled her over the barricade, while her date, Jason Rodriguez, lifted her up.

“Everyone was yelling for different things. They were either yelling for Travis or they were yelling for help,” Rodriguez said.

On video posted to social media, Scott could be seen stopping the concert at one point and asking for aid for someone in the audience: “Security, somebody help real quick.”

The victims

Over the weekend, a makeshift memorial of flowers, votive candles, condolence notes and T-shirts took shape outside at NRG Park.

Michael Suarez, 26, visited the growing memorial after the concert.

”It’s very devastating. No one wants to see or hear people dying at a festival,” Suarez said. “We were here to have a good time — a great time — and it’s devastating to hear someone lost their lives.”

The dead, according to friends and family members, included a 14-year-old high school student; a 16-year-old girl who loved dancing; and a 21-year-old engineering student at the University of Dayton. The youngest was 14, the oldest 27.

Houston officials did not immediately release the victims’ names or the cause of death, but family and friends began to name their loved ones and tell their stories Sunday.

Thirteen people remained hospitalized Sunday. Their conditions were not disclosed. Over 300 people were treated at a field hospital at the concert.

Billy Nasser, 24, who had traveled from Indianapolis to attend the concert, said about 15 minutes into Scott’s set, things got “really crazy” and people began crushing one another. He said he “was picking people up and trying to drag them out.”

Nasser said he found a concertgoer on the ground.

“I picked him up. People were stepping on him. People were like stomping, and I picked his head up and I looked at his eyes, and his eyes were just white, rolled back to the back of his head,” he said.

Associated Press writers Jake Bleiberg in Dallas; Randall Chase in Dover, Delaware; Kristin M. Hall in Nashville and Bob Christie in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.