On November 5, 2021, rapper Travis Scott’s 3rd Astroworld Festival — founded as a celebration of Houston’s vibrant hip-hop scene and heritage — descended into chaos. Eagerly awaiting Scott’s headline performance on the main stage, the thousands in the crowd, boxed in and pressing forward against the barricades, devolved into a deadly crush. Within the show’s first minute, an evening of joy turned into a night of terror that left 10 dead, 25 hospitalized, and over 300 injured.
On June 10, the new documentary Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy, directed by Yemi Bamiro (Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World) and co-directed and produced by Hannah Poulter (Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn), explores the disastrous event. Told through footage shot by festival-goers, harrowing 911 calls, and interviews with survivors and families of victims, the film provides an immersive look at the festival and raises questions about the accountability of artists in an era that compels them to continually amplify their shows to drive revenue.
“Our desire to tell this story stemmed from a very simple question — how can 10 people die at a music festival and no one knows how or why such a catastrophic tragedy happened?” Bamiro tells Netflix. “The objective for our film from the very start was to challenge all the misinformation that had become synonymous with Astroworld 2021.”
The documentary features insights from the Houston Police Department, Astroworld security and EMT workers, as well as a crowd safety consultant, shedding light on critical failures in managing the massive audience. The film also examines the role powerful live entertainment conglomerates like Live Nation, who organized the Astroworld Festival alongside Scott, played in the chaos. (In 2023, a Houston grand jury found that no individual was criminally responsible for the deaths at Astroworld. All 10 wrongful death lawsuits have been settled out of court by Live Nation, Travis Scott, and other defendants for undisclosed amounts.)
“Out of the terrible sorrow and loss, there is an enduring story of the most incredible bravery, tenacity and resilience of those who decided to step up and act, even when the authorities did not,” executive producer Kari Lia adds. “And as filmmakers, it was our considerable honor to have the chance to tell their stories.”
Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy offers an in-depth examination of the planning, events, and aftermath of the 2021 Astroworld Festival. The film kicks off this summer’s Trainwreck anthology — a series of eight documentaries examining some of the wildest and most bizarre events ever to blow up in mainstream media, rolling out every week starting June 10. The first installment, released in 2022, explored the infamous Woodstock ‘99 festival.
Check back for more information ahead of the documentary’s upcoming release.
