Future performed before a massive crowd during Summer Smash 2023, which organizers say ‘hosted over 100,000 attendees.’ Photo Credit: Summer Smash
What avalanche of lawsuits? As he faces multiple complaints over the Astroworld tragedy, Travis Scott is set to headline Summer Smash 2024.
Summer Smash reached out today with the line-up for its 2024 edition, now scheduled to kick off at SeatGeek Stadium (located 15 miles from Chicago’s Grant Park) on Friday, June 14th. Tickets also went on sale today (via DICE) for these adjusted dates, with general admission passes priced at $385 apiece, including fees and shipping, for the full weekend.
Those who “purchased tickets during the 2024 pre-sale” but are unable to make Summer Smash’s new dates can request a refund or an exchange for 2025 passes, according to organizers Lyrical Lemonade and SPKRBX. (As a pertinent aside, though Summer Smash’s release mentions each website, only “thesummersmash.com,” not “summersmash.com,” was live at the time of writing.)
Back to the north of 50-act line-up, Scott, tapping “his own home team record label for the first-ever collaborative Cactus Jack performance,” is expected to headline the opening night of “the world’s biggest independent hip-hop music festival,” with additional performers including Big Sean and Flo Milli.
Playboi Carti, who’s headlined several times in the past, will top the event’s billing on Saturday the 15th, following shows from Kodak Black, Lil Tecca, and more. (Rolling Loud Europe has booked both Carti and Scott as headliners for July as well.)
Finally, Chief Keef is poised to entertain attendees on Summer Smash 2024’s final day, when the likes of Lil Yachty and Waka Flocka Flame will also take the stage.
Regarding Summer Smash 2024’s organizational details, “the outdoor event will house three main stages – one of them outdoors within a world-class sports stadium,” per the appropriate companies. As described by the same entities, another stage has been “custom-built and constructed on outdoor turf nearby including a smaller third performance stage placed underneath a massive open-air tent.”
“Once inside the festival grounds,” Lyrical Lemonade and SPKRBX proceeded, “fans will also be treated to dozens of art installations and local food vendors, plus massive sponsorship activations spread across the sprawling multi-acre space, with more details coming soon.”
As we reported yesterday, Scott is still facing a number of lawsuits stemming from the Astroworld 2021 tragedy; one such complaint, levied by the family of an individual who perished during the deadly episode, is scheduled to head to trial in May.
It goes without saying that the point doesn’t bode well for the optics associated with booking the 32-year-old; Summer Smash’s poster bills Cactus Jack itself as the opening-day headliner. More significantly, given the Astroworld tragedy and the injuries that have occurred at different Scott concerts, safety will presumably be front of mind for Summer Smash’s acts, organizers, and staff.
Far from grappling with a ticket-sale downturn like some high-profile festivals, Summer Smash “hosted over 100,000 attendees from all 50 U.S. states (plus Washington, D.C.) and nearly 20 international destinations” last year, according to organizers. Approximately 50,000 individuals attended Astroworld 2021, which companies including today’s largest promoter, Live Nation, arranged.
