Promoters for the Day N Vegas Festival announced on Monday that Post Malone will replace Travis Scott as one of this weekend's headliners in Las Vegas, following the crowd surge that killed eight people at Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston.
Scott's departure comes as investigators look for answers following the surge of people that rushed toward the stage during Scott's performance Friday. Questions around the event's safety plan and its implementation have already prompted a wave of lawsuits against Scott and promoters Live Nation Entertainment and ScoreMore Shows.
While the 30-year-old Scott's shows have long earned a reputation for encouraging volatile crowds, the Astroworld tragedy has placed new focus on audience safety measures at festivals and how they failed in Houston. The eight deaths came as fans in the crowd begged Scott's crew to stop the performance and medical personnel were overwhelmed by injuries among the 50,000 attendees.
Concert safety consultant Paul Wertheimer told The Times that in Astroworld's safety plans, "there's no mention of crowd management of the audience in front of the stage. It's not even addressed. Neither is moshing, crowd surfing or stage diving. Neither do the terms 'crowd crush,' 'crowd surge,' 'crowd collapse' or 'panic' appear anywhere."
Day N Vegas promoter Goldenvoice, which also produces the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival where Scott is still scheduled to headline in April, said on Monday, "The security and safety of all attending Day N Vegas has been and is always top priority in our festival planning. We continue to work hand in hand with law enforcement, medical personnel and public safety agencies on our protocol for the weekend."
Scott said after the disaster that he was "absolutely devastated by what took place" and said he'd work "together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need."
A fan-organized petition to remove Scott from the Coachella lineup has gathered almost 18,000 signatures by Tuesday morning.
Malone's own branded festival, Posty Fest, originally scheduled for Halloween weekend in Arlington, Texas, was canceled and moved to 2022.
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