HOUSTON — Coleton Kriegel was in midst of the chaos at the third annual Astroworld Music Festival last weekend. The 18-year-old recalled the moment the crowd surge around him turned deadly, leaving eight people dead and multiple injured.
“There were people foaming at the mouth because of drugs used in the mosh pit, and there were other people getting trampled on,” recalled Kriegel. "People were trying to make people back up but it was impossible because of how tight it was. It was definitely a scary experience."
Kriegel is a music lover and active concertgoer who was excited to attend his first Astro Fest, the ultimate music experience he described as pretty tame until his favorite artist, Travis Scott, took the stage.
“People started freaking out, gasping for air because people couldn’t breathe. You could feel the anxiety in the air,” said Kriegel.
The sold-out festival had 50,000 people in attendance at NRG Park. Houston officials say the venue had medical teams at the site but they were quickly overwhelmed.
Kriegel’s mom Julie Ludeke says she had a bad feeling about the festival due to the large crowd.
“I was scared. I had actually told my husband before he left I knew something bad was going to happen at this thing. These huge events like this, there’s just got to be a better way to do it. It just has to be a better way,” said Ludeke.
Kriegel believes accountability is the key to avoiding future incidents such as what happened at Astroworld Fest 2021.
“If everyone is personally accountable then the whole collective is accountable, and security needs to step it up and value people's lives and people's safety over everything else,” said Kriegel
Donnie Houston of the Donnie Houston Podcast is active in the Texas music scene. Houston is a producer and DJ for mainstream artists such as Paul Wall and Bun B. He says that Astroworld isn’t the first festival to face a tragedy and unfortunately, it won’t be the last.
“It’s going to take everybody. More security of course, but more importantly than that, these kids have to realize how quickly these things can get out of hand,“ said Houston.