CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Review: Travis Scott’s ‘Astronomical’ Fortnite Event

Pollstar: When my editor first asked me to cover Travis Scott’s concert event inside the free online game Fortnite, I had my reservations. I had never played Fortnite and am neither a Travis Scott hater nor fan, so I probably wouldn’t have very strong opinions on the music or the game experience.

But we both knew that the previous Fortnite concert event from Marshmello in February 2019 showed video games were providing a unique new way for artists to connect with younger audiences, and Travis Scott is a massive artist in his own right, having secured the top slot on the 2019 Q1 Top 100 Tours chart after his massive “Astroworld: Wish You Were Here Tour."

1 comment:

Elinore Tolman said...

Ever since hearing about the Travis Scott concert from last week, it left me curious as to how the future of concerts will go and what the overall perception of this video game concert was to the public. I was excited to see a review of this concert from someone who experienced it because I was only an outsider reading about the aftermath. Based on this article, it is good to hear that the concert, while brief, was a special and entertaining experience for those who attended. It was interesting to me to hear that it’s now available to view anywhere, which I feel takes a bit away from the experience because people can just access it later. Yet, there is something special about being there in the moment, which the author highlights. They also bring up how they think there won’t be a moment like this again, which I don’t fully agree with. Live shows are always a preference for fans and performers, but I do think after seeing the success of an online concert, artists will take advantage of this new ability when their situation presents them with an inability to perform live.