Texas-born, GRAMMY Award-nominated and multi-platinum hip-hop artist Travis Scott’s second annual ASTROWORLD Festival kicked off their second year with a successful sold-out, multi-stage event at NRG Park in Houston. The music festival once again brought back the beloved spirit and nostalgia of AstroWorld, the legendary and now-defunct amusement park which was located across the street from the festival grounds – making a lifelong dream of Travis’ come true as the festival founder himself grew up in nearby Missouri City just outside of Houston and attended the park numerous times as a child with his family and friends.
The event has now become the largest single-day artist-curated music festival in the country, as well as the largest music festival in Scott’s hometown of Houston, which this year hosted over 50,000 fans from across the globe. Scott himself solely curated the music lineup, which was comprised of artists that he hand-selected to perform, putting special emphasis on expanding to genres beyond just hip-hop and R&B.
Travis Scott’s electrifying performance on Saturday closed out the festival with a mix of his most popular hits and personal favorite tracks, as well as new unreleased music. The set also included a variety of special guests like previously announced festival performers Migos and Young Thug; as well as surprise performers Kanye West, Swae Lee (of Rae Sremmurd) and Gunna; and a special onstage introduction from comedian Dave Chappelle. His set also debuted a brand-new multi-million-dollar stage production featuring a post-apocalyptic design, a theme that was consistently featured around the festival grounds.
Scott also invited one of today’s most popular Latin artists Rosalía, as well as legendary hard rock icon Marilyn Manson, to perform on this year’s main stages alongside other notable acts like Migos, who have collaborated as a group and as individual artists with Scott on numerous songs and projects in recent years, and the multi-talented Pharrell Williams, who performed countless popular songs from his large catalog of hits while backed by a large ensemble of talented dancers.
Notable fan-driven activations included a custom basketball court from Nike, which featured a special art-inspired collaboration with students from the festival’s designated nonprofit, Workshop Houston; a larger-than-life, 35-foot-high planetarium that featured custom-made, 360-degree 4K-HD laser projections across the dome synced with surprise, never-before-heard new music from Scott; a black-out maze; and a black-lit arcade. Returning rides included a full-size Ferris wheel, drop tower, carousel, spinning starship, and more, accompanied by a variety of amusement park-style games and prizes – all of which were named after Travis Scott’s own songs and lyrics.
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