Best Music Festival: Astroworld Festival

A note about crowning Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival Houston’s best music fest: It’s not simply by default. True, the hometown hip-hop hero’s music-filled ode to the bygone amusement park stands as tall and nearly as singular as the Texas Cyclone. But even a music landscape dotted with one-time thrillers like Free Press Summer Fest or Day For Night might today concede Astroworld Festival as the main attraction.

For starters, fans of the fest are kept in suspense about the event’s lineup until hours before the gates open just to amp the excitement. Until the bill is announced, there’s no telling which acts Scott's handpicked for the event. The latest iteration included upwardly mobile locals like Megan Thee Stallion and Maxo Kream, Spanish language superstar Rosalía and a headlining performance by Scott which Houston Press reviewer Carlos Brandon likened to seeing the Beatles in West Germany or Queen at Live Aid.

While the performers can be surprising (Marilyn Manson on the latest bill!) fans are just as eager to see who will drop by for the festivities. Last year, Kanye West walked on and Dave Chappelle, who seemed to be vying for honorary Houstonian status at the time, was a special guest. The best in modern hip-hop, an enthralling who’s who of guests, intriguing looky-loos taking it all in and everything set to the theme of the world’s greatest theme park (sorry, Disney), Astroworld Festival definitely puts fans in the middle of fun.

astroworldfest.com

Readers' Choice: Astroworld Festival

• Best of Houston