FACING THE MUSIC

Travis Scott, Live Nation Settle First Astroworld Lawsuits Against Victims’ Families

Axel Acosta, 21, and Brianna Rodriguez, 16, were two of the 10 people who were trampled to death at last year’s festival in Houston.

Two families have settled lawsuits against rapper Travis Scott and concert organizer Live Nation, the first settlements in a series of suits that arose after last year’s Astroworld tragedy.

Houston attorney Tony Buzbee announced a deal between the family of 21-year-old Axel Acosta and the parties behind the doomed festival on Wednesday night.

“Victim Axel Acosta was a beloved son, brother, and student,” Buzbee said in a statement provided to The Daily Beast and published on Instagram. “He was kind and loving. He is greatly missed. Please keep his family in your prayers.”

Additionally, multiple outlets report that the family of 16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez has also settled its own, separate case.

The details of both settlements are undisclosed.

Rodriguez and Acosta were two of the 10 concertgoers who were trampled to death during the first night of the third Astroworld Festival, which is named after Scott’s 2018 album and held in his hometown of Houston.

Rodriguez was a high school junior in Houston, while Acosta was a student at Western Washington University. His father, Edgar, told KHOU, “He was trying to study and go to school to be an engineer ... computer programmer ... because he wanted to provide for his family. He was the first grandkid, he was the oldest one. He always took care of his cousins and nieces.”

Buzbee filed a lawsuit on behalf of over 125 victims on Nov. 16, days after the fatal crowd rush. The complaint—which included Acosta as a plaintiff—named Scott and LiveNation, along with Drake, who also performed; Apple Music; Epic Records; Scott’s own record label Cactus Jack Records; and the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation.

Attorneys for both families, LiveNation, and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Daily Beast.

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Buzbee’s complaint asks for $750 million and accuses the defendants of negligence for not putting a stop to the concert as the crowd packed in tighter and tighter and audience members called out for help.

In an interview a month after the festival, Scott, whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II, said he couldn’t hear much from the stage.

“You can only help what you can see and whatever you’re told, whenever they tell you to stop, you stop,” he said. “It’s so crazy ’cause I’m that artist, too. Anytime you can hear something like that, you want to stop the show, you want to make sure fans get the proper attention they need. Anytime I could see anything like that, I did.”

Since the tragedy unfolded last year, the security company that was hired to work the event, Contemporary Services Corp., has faced a wave of scrutiny over its hiring practices.

“If you look at my resume, I only have hospitality and retail experience,” one of the festival’s guards told Rolling Stone. “It felt like they just needed bodies, like they were hiring anyone who passed a background test.”

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Adam MannoEntertainment Reporter

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