Houston Mayor Confirms Travis Scott Booked to Play Houston on ‘Utopia’ Tour Two Years After Astroworld Tragedy

Hours after Travis Scott revealed on Tuesday (Aug. 8) that he was gearing up for a U.S. tour in support of his just-released chart-topping Utopia album, the mayor of his hometown, Houston, confirmed that the rapper has booked a gig at the city’s Toyota Center later this year.

While Scott has not revealed any of the dates or venues for the outing yet, other than to tease on Instagram “UTOPIA TOUR SOON, US AND EURO DATES SOON TO BE ANNOUNCE, I MISS THE ROAD I MISSS YALLL,” the Houston gig is notable because it will mark the first time since the Astroworld tragedy two years ago that the rapper will take the stage in the city.

According to ABC 13, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner released a statement on Tuesday that Scott and his promotion partners “booked the Toyota Center for a concert in October.” Turner also noted that the 19,000-seat arena is a different type of venue than the one that hosted Astroworld in 2021, the parking lot at NRG, where 10 people died and hundreds were injured during a deadly crowd crush. Scott and Live Nation are still facing a number of civil lawsuits over Astroworld.

“The Toyota Center has been a good partner with the City of Houston, and we expect this to continue for this and every other concert. Before today’s announcement, Toyota Center representatives convened meetings with public safety officials and the City’s special events office,” the mayor’s statement read. “They will continue working together to ensure this concert’s safety, not unlike the many other concerts and events held at Toyota Center each year.”

A grand jury in Houston decided in June that neither Scott nor the organizers of the festival would face criminal charges in the incident following a 19-month investigation that found there was not enough evidence to support criminal charges against the rapper or other individuals who organized the event.

Though Scott has not confirmed the Houston date, KPRC 2 reported that local law enforcement agencies told the station that leaders in the Houston Police Department were not pleased with the news. “The HPOU found out early last week that Travis Scott would be returning to Houston for two concert dates. October 19th, and November the 20th, were the dates in which were proposed for the return. Like most we were in complete disbelief,” read a statement from HPD Union president Douglas Griffith after what was reportedly a tense meeting with the HPD and a number of officers who expressed their frustrations and safety concerns about the upcoming show by the rapper who in the past has encouraged his fans to “rage” at his shows.

“Only days after the release of a 1,200-page report describing the tragic events that took place during his Astroworld Concert, we are advised just days later that there will be another,” the HPD statement continued. “This is outrageous and the HPOU will be calling for all of our elected officials to stand up and say, Not in our city, not again! We truly do not want to ever make a statement like the one two weeks ago asking for prayers for the families of those lost at a Travis Scott concert.”

At press time a spokesperson for tour promoter Live Nation could not be reached for comment on the HPD’s reported concerns.

Scott celebrated the release of Utopia with a concert at Rome’s Circus Maximus over the weekend which featured a surprise appearance from disgraced rapper Kanye West (who now goes by Ye.) Utopia shot to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated Aug. 12, marking the third-biggest week of 2023 for any album and the largest for any R&B/hip-hop or rap release.