Texas Governor Forms Concert Safety Task Force in Wake of Astroworld Tragedy

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has announced plans on Wednesday (Nov. 10) to form a concert safety task force in the wake of the Astroworld Festival tragedy that killed eight people and injured hundreds more last weekend.

“Live music is a source of joy, entertainment, and community for so many Texans — and the last thing concertgoers should have to worry about is their safety and security,” said Abbott in a statement. “To ensure that the tragedy that occurred at the Astroworld Festival never happens again in the Lone Star State, I am forming the Texas Task Force on Concert Safety.”

The task force will develop “meaningful solutions” to help keep attendees safe at concerts held in the state, Abbott said. To do this, members of the task force will convene for a series of roundtable discussions to analyze concert safety and design enhanced protocols addressing crowd control, security measures and the use of controlled substances, among other topics.

The task force will be led by Texas Music Office director Brendan Anthony and include representatives from organizations including the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, Sheriffs’ Association of Texas, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Municipal Police Association, Texas Police Chiefs Association, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Texas State Association of Fire Fighters. It will also include music industry representatives, to be announced in the coming days.

The casualties at Astroworld occurred after a crowd surged towards the stage during a headlining performance by rapper and festival founder Travis Scott. Already, 46 lawsuits have been filed against Scott, Live Nation, Scott’s co-performer Drake and others involved in the event.