Astroworld Festival
It’s Travis Scott’s world these days. Over the past year, he has parlayed the success of his brand and multi-platinum album Astroworld into collaborations with Nike, a Super Bowl performance, a Netflix documentary, and his own music festival.
This year, Astroworld Festival, taking place on November 9 at NRG Park in Houston, sold out of 50,000 tickets weeks in advance, without announcing a lineup. Last year’s fest – which topped out at 40,000 tickets sold without a lineup announcement until the day before gates opened – included Post Malone, Rae Sremmurd, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, and a headlining performance by Scott.
“We wanted to differentiate Astroworld from other festivals in many ways,” Scott’s manager and general manager of Cactus Jack Records, David Stromberg, said via email. “We don’t announce the lineup until day-of because we want to bring back the surprise and excitement from kids at Astroworld or any theme park.”
In 2018, festival-goers were treated to multiple amusement park rides and games, including a full-size Ferris wheel, drop tower, and carousel. Still, convincing the general public to spend between $89 to $550 for a one-day festival without knowing who’s performing would be an uphill battle for most. But according to fest’s organizers, ticket-buyers are coming from over 40 states in the U.S., as well as international countries including Germany, the U.K., Mexico, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, and Australia.
In just its second year, Astroworld has become a top competitor in the artist-curated festival market. Its ticket sales have outpaced single-day festivals hosted this year, including Pharrell’s Something In The Water (35,000) and Post Malone’s Posty Fest (45,000).
According to Billboard, Scott’s Wish You Were Here tour grossed $34.3 million in its first three months, selling over 485,000 tickets during the first 32 dates. In August, Scott starred in his own Netflix documentary Look Mom I Can Fly and pulled back the curtain on his life as a new father, the creation of his Grammy-nominated Astroworld album, and the inner workings of the inaugural festival last November.
Even before gates open for the second-annual Astroworld Festival, Stromberg says he and Scott are already looking ahead.
“Travis transcends hip-hop and is one of the biggest artists in the world, but still curates everything about the festival. He’s already thinking of ways to make it even bigger next year.”
