scott responds

Travis Scott pledges to cover funeral expenses of 8 Astroworld Festival victims

Eight people died at Astroworld Festival after a massive surge during the show.

Photo courtesy of Astroworld Festival

Days after the mass-casualty event that took the lives of eight, Missouri-City born rapper Travis Scott says he will cover the funeral expenses of those who died at his November 5 Astroworld Festival.

The news comes via a press release from BetterHelp, a therapy service. Scott has pledged to partner with the mental health care provider to provide free one-on-one online sessions with a licensed therapist to those affected by the concert disaster.

“Travis remains in active conversations to respectfully and appropriately connect with the individuals and families of those involved,” ABC13 reports the mental health service provider saying.

Per Harris County, the eight dead are:

Mirza Baig, 27, of Houston
Rodolfo Peña, 23, of Laredo, Texas
Madison Dubiski, 23, of Cypress, Texas
Franco Patiño, 21, of Illinois
Jacob Jurinke, 20, of Illinois
John Hilgert, 14, of Houston
Axel Acosta Avila, 21, of Washington
Brianna Rodriguez, 16, of Houston

BetterHelp tells CultureMap that it will also direct those in immediate need to NAMI, who has a dedicated national hotline, available Monday-Friday from 9 am to 9 pm. This hotline can be reached at 1-800-950-NAMI 1 (844-950-6264).

NAMI’s Greater Houston chapter will direct incoming callers to the BetterHelp portal established via this partnership and ensure access to various counseling services, psychoeducation, community-based healing circles, support groups, and other related services.

Additionally, CultureMap news partner ABC13 reports that rapper Roddy Ricch, who opened before Scott at the festival, will assist the families of the victims, pledging to donate his earnings from his performance to those families.

For his part, Scott has also announced that he will issue full refunds to anyone with tickets to Astroworld Festival, multiple news outlets have reported.
Meanwhile, at least two lawsuits have been filed against Scott, Drake, LiveNation, and more in light of the disaster that injured hundreds after a mass surge.

The Hot List

Houston shines among best summer vacation destinations for 2026

Photo by © Debora Smail Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

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Nearly three quarters of Americans are planning on going on vacation this summer, and Houston is climbing up the national hot list of the best summer destinations of 2026.

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro ranked as the No. 20 best summer travel destination in WalletHub's annual study, which compared 100 of the largest U.S. metro areas across 41 metrics based on travel costs and hassles, local costs, attractions, weather, and activities and safety.

The U.S. metros that scored the top three spots are Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Georgia (No. 1); Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida (No. 2); and Texas neighbor Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (No. 3).

Houston's 2026 ranking is up 15 spots from last year's report when the city was the 35th best summer travel destination.

Here's how H-Town stacked up in the six main categories:

No. 7 – Attractions
No. 13 – Local costs
No. 24 – Activities
No. 50 – Weather
No. 84 – Travel costs and hassles
No. 90 – Safety

Summer activities may draw in more tourists, but that shouldn't stop Houstonians from exploring their own city. From Fourth of July celebrations, to a one-night only hip-hop show , there are plenty of things to do to keep occupied and beat the summer heat in the city. And a trip to the Johnson Space Center, Houston Museum of Natural Science, or the Houston Zoo are always options for locals that want to pretend to be tourists for the day.

Other top Texas summer travel destinations
The Austin metro ranked as the third-best summer travel destination in the U.S., and it's the most conveniently located neighbor from Houston that's less than three hours away.

The study found air travel to Austin — though not entirely cheap — has plenty of short nonstop flights from other major cities, making it an easily reachable destination compared to most other U.S. cities. Austin's reputation as foodie city and its outdoor recreational activities also bring in a lot of summer tourism.

"One reason why Austin is a great destination is that it’s really easy to find affordable restaurants that are rated at least 4.5 stars out of 5 on Yelp," the report's author wrote. "Austin offers a mix of culture and outdoor fun, boasting a high number of attractions including the Bullock Texas State History Museum as well as shopping centers, music venues, food festivals and hiking trails."

The suburbs also attract tourists looking for fun things to do that aren't just in central or downtown Austin, like checking out new restaurants in Round Rock and Georgetown.

Visitors taking an extended trip to Texas can also visit San Antonio-New Braunfels and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, which also ranked among the top 25 and landed in the No. 11 and No. 21 spots, respectively.

The top 10 best summer travel destinations in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Georgia
No. 2 – Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
No. 3 – Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
No. 4 – Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia
No. 5 – Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
No. 6 – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida
No. 7 – Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware-Maryland
No. 8 – Salt Lake City, Utah
No. 9 – Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana
No. 10 – Richmond, Virginia

wallethub reports summer vacation travel