Hours after Travis Scott revealed on Tuesday (Aug. 8) that he was gearing up for a U.S. tour in assist of his just-released chart-topping Utopia album, the mayor of his hometown, Houston, confirmed that the rapper has booked a gig on the metropolis’s Toyota Middle later this yr.
Whereas Scott has not revealed any of the dates or venues for the outing but, aside from to tease on Instagram “UTOPIA TOUR SOON, US AND EURO DATES SOON TO BE ANNOUNCE, I MISS THE ROAD I MISSS YALLL,” the Houston gig is notable as a result of it’s going to mark the primary time because the Astroworld tragedy two years in the past that the rapper will take the stage within the metropolis.
Based on ABC 13, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner launched an announcement on Tuesday that Scott and his promotion companions “booked the Toyota Center for a concert in October.” Turner additionally famous that the 19,000-seat area is a distinct kind of venue than the one which hosted Astroworld in 2021, the parking zone at NRG, the place 10 folks died and lots of had been injured throughout a lethal crowd crush. Scott and Dwell Nation are nonetheless dealing with plenty of civil lawsuits over Astroworld.
“The Toyota Center has been a good partner with the City of Houston, and we expect this to continue for this and every other concert. Before today’s announcement, Toyota Center representatives convened meetings with public safety officials and the City’s special events office,” the mayor’s assertion learn. “They will continue working together to ensure this concert’s safety, not unlike the many other concerts and events held at Toyota Center each year.”
A grand jury in Houston determined in June that neither Scott nor the organizers of the competition would face legal expenses within the incident following a 19-month investigation that discovered there was not sufficient proof to assist legal expenses in opposition to the rapper or different people who organized the occasion.
Although Scott has not confirmed the Houston date, KPRC 2 reported that native regulation enforcement businesses advised the station that leaders within the Houston Police Division weren’t happy with the information. “The HPOU found out early last week that Travis Scott would be returning to Houston for two concert dates. October 19th, and November the 20th, were the dates in which were proposed for the return. Like most we were in complete disbelief,” learn an announcement from HPD Union president Douglas Griffith after what was reportedly a tense assembly with the HPD and plenty of officers who expressed their frustrations and security issues concerning the upcoming present by the rapper who previously has inspired his followers to “rage” at his reveals.
“Only days after the release of a 1,200-page report describing the tragic events that took place during his Astroworld Concert, we are advised just days later that there will be another,” the HPD assertion continued. “This is outrageous and the HPOU will be calling for all of our elected officials to stand up and say, Not in our city, not again! We truly do not want to ever make a statement like the one two weeks ago asking for prayers for the families of those lost at a Travis Scott concert.”
At press time a spokesperson for tour promoter Dwell Nation couldn’t be reached for touch upon the HPD’s reported issues.
Scott celebrated the discharge of Utopia with a live performance at Rome’s Circus Maximus over the weekend which featured a shock look from disgraced rapper Kanye West (who now goes by Ye.) Utopia shot to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated Aug. 12, marking the third-biggest week of 2023 for any album and the biggest for any R&B/hip-hop or rap launch.