
The tragic footprint left by the unforgivable devastation at Texas’ 2021 Astroworld music festival still lingers heavily over the city of Houston. The memory of the ill-fated November 5th concert, where a fatal crowd crush claimed the lives of 10 attendees, continues to trouble the hearts of many. Now, there is at least some legal closure with the resolution of the last lingering wrongful death lawsuit tied to the incident.
The case was brought forward by the family of the youngest casualty of the catastrophe, a spirited 9-year-old aspring music lover from Dallas, Ezra Blount. The lawsuit, scheduled for a jury selection on September 10, named the festival’s star performer, rapper Travis Scott, and Live Nation, the event’s promoter and top dog in the global live entertainment scene, among the defendants. Tech titan Apple Inc., that provided a live stream of the concert, alongside others linked to the organization of the concert, were also named in the litigation.
However, attorney S. Scott West, representing Blount’s family, announced this week that a settlement has been agreed upon. Amid the heartache, the Blounts strive to move forward on their painful journey of recovery, cherishing the warmth and delight their little boy, Ezra, brought into their lives.
On that fateful November evening a year ago, Ezra’s father, Treston Blount, had perched his son on his shoulders to enjoy Scott’s performance. In the continued chaos that ensued, both father and son were swallowed by the crowd’s crushing waves. The elder Blount lost consciousness in the melee, and upon waking, found his son was nowhere to be seen. A desperate citywide search emerged, leading to the traumatic discovery of Ezra at a Houston hospital, bearing grievous injuries. The young boy’s life was tragically cut short several days later.
The Blount family’s claim was one-of-ten wrongful death suits filed following the concert catastrophe. As of now, settlements have been reached for all of these lawsuits, with undisclosed terms.
However, the legal saga surrounding the tragic event is far from over. The wake of the fatal crowd crush saw thousands of lawsuits in its aftermath. About 2,400 injury cases are still on the adjudication docket arising from the deadly concert. The crowd at Astroworld was squashed so restrictively that numerous attendees could barely breathe or move, a situation that led to the death of concert-goers aged as young as 9, up to 27 due to compression asphyxia.
While the Blount lawsuit has reached a conclusion, state District Judge Kristen Hawkins, presiding over the litigation, had slated the first injury trial for October 15. This trial was to center on seven injury cases, and it is yet unclear whether these plans will alter given the latest settlement.
So far, no case has made it before a jury panel. Another wrongful death lawsuit, filed by the family of a 23-year-old Houston resident, Madison Dubiski, was originally poised to go to trial earlier this month, before it met the same fate as the Blount family’s lawsuit and was settled out of court.
On the accusers’ bench, attorneys have pointed fingers at sloppy planning and an alarming neglect for safety concerns and crowd control. Concurrently, the accused, including Scott, Live Nation, and other sued parties, maintain their innocence, expressing their concerns for security, and arguing the unforeseeability of such a disastrous outcome.
Last year, a grand jury opted not to indict Scott and five others related to Astroworld’s organization, following a police investigation into the tragic incident. As this case closes, the justice process continues for the survivors and grieving families, all trying to come to terms with the unforgettable horror of that dreadful November night.