Astroworld, Wish You Were Here

Isabella Koch, Feature and Visuals Editor|January 18, 2019

Aug. 3 marked one of this year’s biggest days in music. Jacques Webster, known as Travis Scott, produced and released one of Billboard’s biggest albums of 2018. With three grammy nominations including best rap album, best rap song and best rap performance, Astroworld made its mark.

Scott released a first leg United States tour August 16th on his Instagram profile. The post received over half a million likes and over 24,989 comments. “We turning these arenas into a night to remember,” Scott said. People of all ages have heard of Astroworld, song and tour, and the tickets were selling out like crazy. Prices were fluctuating every hour between $65 to $400.

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I cannot put the experience into words but this was round two for me so I was prepared

— Patrick Sullivan

“It was hard to tell when the ticket prices would change but I don’t regret anything because it was an unforgettable experience,” senior Anna Alworth said.

The tour started in Baltimore and hit 24 other arenas. Dec. 8. marked the day Astroworld came to Minneapolis, at the Target Center. The show sold out. The venue was set up with a general admission floor. When getting cleared into the event, security put wristbands on everyone to indicate GA access. The orange band also had the message “NO MOSHING,” indicated by security.

“The wristbands were pretty ironic because the atmosphere of the concert was clearly going to lead to moshing, and it did,” senior Mitchell Hirschberg said.

The show originally started with three opening acts. In order, Sheck Wes, Trippie Redd, and Gunna were set to perform before Scott came on. However, two days before the Minneapolis concert rapper Trippie Redd announced that he was no longer performing in the Astroworld tour due to his frustration with the production, according to TMZ. Evidently, the concert ended an hour earlier due to the unexpected drop.

Scott’s setlist was made up of 31 songs. All songs from Astroworld were performed along with older songs by the artist. Songs that Scott has been featured in were also performed. Scott’s energy on stage radiated onto the whole crowd leaving the stadium in complete bliss.

“I cannot put the experience into words but this was round two for me so I was prepared,” senior Patrick Sullivan said.

The term “Astroworld” comes from Scott’s childhood amusement park that was later torn dorn and remodeled as a rodeo (Rodeo is the name of his first album). “My whole idea was if you locked in to Rodeo, you definitely locked into Astroworld. I’m just finishing the saga I started on my first album. This is supposed to be my second album. I had to go quick, because like I said, I had all these ideas, I just had to get off real quick, but now I’m finally back home with Astroworld,” Scott said in an interview with Heavy.com.

Because of his childhood inspiration, Scott wanted rides surrounding him on stage. In each performance, there is a mobile roller coaster and a carousel on stage two, while fire, fireworks, and confetti were displayed at some point during the show.

“Standing in general admission, I have never felt so close to an artist when he was riding the roller coaster above the crowd. It was a very fun and interactive part of the concert and I will never forget it,” senior Vivian Rohrer said.

The special effects, sound quality, and interaction from Scott really set this concert apart from many others I’ve seen. He wanted the crowd to feel something more at his Astroworld tour and he accomplished that. Besides the slight bruises from the mosh pit, Astroworld gave me a new insight into the mind of Travis Scott. It was one I will never forget.