Travis Scott announces his first tour since the 2021 Astroworld tragedy

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — Travis Scott is gearing up to again take the stage nearly two years after the Astroworld tragedy, his ill-fated Houston concert that left 10 dead and hundreds injured in 2021.

On Wednesday, the rapper announced that his “Utopia – Circus Maximus” tour will kick off on October 11 in Charlotte, North Carolina and culminate in Toronto, Canada in December after playing in a total of 28 North American cities, according to a news release.

The tour follows Scott’s live performance at the Circus Maximus in Rome, Italy earlier this month, which sold out 60,000 tickets in two days and sparked fears of an earthquake.

The announcement marks Scott’s first official tour since the deadly Astroworld Festival, a concert the rapper both organized and headlined.

That concert quickly turned into chaos as concertgoers present during Scott’s performance were crushed, with many struggling to breathe as people crowded near the stage. The turmoil later prompted officials to declare the concert a “mass casualty event.”

In late June of this year, Scott was cleared of criminal charges by the Houston District Attorney’s office, District Attorney Kim Ogg said during a press conference at the time. However he has faced a series of civil lawsuits brought forth by many of the victims’ families.

In a statement released after the deadly event, Scott said he was “distraught by the situation and desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide aid to (the victims) as soon as possible.”

Scott released his fourth studio album “Utopia” last month, a rap album that has since held steady in the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 200 Albums chart for four weeks.

The news release on Wednesday promises the tour will “transport fans into an unparalleled audiovisual experience,” and that a portion of every ticket sold will go to Scott’s Cactus Jack Foundation, an organization that benefits Houston youth through toy drives, scholarship programs and by helping to pay for education and creative endeavors.

Tickets for the “Utopia – Circus Maximus” tour will go on sale Thursday at 10 AM in the ticket buyer’s time zone.

Update: The tour has added 11 new dates due to demand, and will now include second shows in Dallas, Phoenix, Oakland, Miami, Brooklyn and more.

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