House Oversight Committee launches investigation of Live Nation after deadly Astroworld tragedy

Event promoter will have to turn in documentation and appear for a briefing on 12 January

Ezra Blount, 9, the youngest victim of the Astroworld festival tragedy in a photo provided by his mother (AP)

An investigation into the role of festival promoter Live Nation has been launched by a committee of the US House of Representatives over the deadly Astroworld Festival tragedy where 10 people were crushed to death.

In a letter sent to Live Nation president and chief executive Michael Rapino on Wednesday, members of the House Oversight Committee sought information over the tragedy.

The committee cited reports that “raise serious concerns” whether the company took adequate efforts to ensure the safety of 50,000 concert goers.

It noted that the company had a history of safety violations at their events and contended that “the tragedy at Astroworld Festival follows a long line of other tragic events and safety violations involving Live Nation.”

Committee chairwoman Carolyn B Maloney and three other bipartisan members of the committee signed the three-page letter, that also outlined the scope of the investigations into the tragedy.

“Recent reports raise serious concerns about whether your company took adequate steps to ensure the safety of the 50,000 concertgoers who attended Astroworld Festival,” the committee said in the letter.

The probe will examine what steps the company took before the planning and logistics, details about security, crowd control and mass casualty incident planning.

It will also look into what steps the concert promoter will take to prevent injuries or deaths at future events.

At least 10 people, including a nine-year-old boy who was the youngest victim of the tragedy, were killed and hundreds of others injured when a crowd crush took place at the Houston event in which rapper Travis Scott performed on 5 November.

The rapper, along with concert organisers, is now being sued by hundreds of victims, with one Texas lawyer claiming that damages in the cases could end up “in the billions.”

The committee has requested documentation from Live Nation by 7 January and asked it to provide a closed-doors briefing to the members of the committee by 12 January.

Live Nation said in a statement they were assisting authorities in investigations and they will share the required information with the committee.

“We are assisting local authorities in their investigation and will of course share information with the Committee as well. Safety is core to live events and Live Nation engages in detailed security planning in coordination with local stakeholders including law enforcement, fire and EMT professionals,” the company said in a statement.

“We are heartbroken by the events at Astroworld and our deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends of the victims,” it added.

Live Nation would now have to turn over contracts related to festival security, medical care and communications for the documentation as well.