On Oct. 9, 2024, Travis Scott performed at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. This may have just been his most anticipated show since the tragic Astrofest Incident on Nov. 5, 2021, when awful management and carelessness resulted in the deaths and injuries of many. The show caused Scott to completely go out of the press as he was being “canceled” by the media for his lack of precautionary safety measures.
He was out of the limelight from Nov. 2021 until April 2022, but even when he returned, he notably didn’t have the same status. This would all change when he released his fourth studio album entitled “UTOPIA” on July 28, 2023. Ever since, Scott has been making up for lost time. He has released some of the biggest songs in all of music, performed at the GRAMMYs and now hosted one of the most anticipated concerts in recent memory.
This one-time show, “One Night Only in Utopia,” is arguably his most anticipated show ever, completely selling out MetLife Stadium–which is no light task when considering the stadium has over 80,000 seats.
It is worth mentioning that the show was scheduled for 7:30, but the openers came out around 8:30. The drill rap Group 41 came out. They had a mixed reaction from the crowd. The ones who liked 41 were most likely familiar with the New York drill scene, but most people weren’t so the crowd was a little dead. After a few songs, they ended their performance.
At 9:30, which is considered relatively late in concert terms, Travis Scott finally came out with a cinematic intro with an announcement girl speaking. This girl would speak throughout the show warning the crowd about highlights coming up.
Travis opened up with “HYAENA,” which the crowd went insane for. The crowd erupted for every song at the show because of Travis’s great energy as a performer.
To add to the concert’s chaotic, but fun energy, Sheck Wes came out during the show. Wes played his magnum opus, “Mo Bamba” which the crowd loved. It brought the whole crowd back to 2018 again, where it was the biggest rap song in the world.
After this, he started playing a mix of his old and new songs. “Nightcrawler” and “BUTTERFLY EFFECT” received massive crowd reactions due to them being fan favorites.
During “CIRCUS MAXIMUS,” the announcement girl came on again announcing that visitors were soon arriving. People in gorilla costumes came out during the song’s performance. It ended with a long-winded Travis solo that the crowd thought would transition into The Weeknd’s voice as he was singing The Weeknd’s part and the “visitor” was thought to be The Weeknd. Travis pump-faked the crowd, though, as he never came out.
Next came the most anticipated part of every show, “FE!N.” It has become a meme online that Travis always performs this song an absurd amount of times. Travis certainly kept this trend alive. He played “FE!N” six times consecutively. The sixth time the crowd erupted as Playboi Carti came out to perform his part.
With how inconsistent Playboi Carti has been throughout his career with album delays, album cancellations, concert cancellations and concert no-shows, it was a massive surprise that Carti showed up even if it was rumored heavily.
After this song, trap legend Future came out, which was the biggest crowd pop of the whole night. Travis Scott, Playboi Carti and Future performed their massive hit song, “Type S**t.” This was the first time they ever all performed at once.
After this, Playboi Carti and Future went backstage, ending their performances. Travis kept the crowd hype in the final portion of the show by playing classic songs, notably “SICKO MODE.”
After playing a few classics, he played “FE!N” again for a seventh and eighth time with the crowd going crazier each time he played the anthem. After this, he walked out to “TELEKINESIS.” He was seen on screen walking backstage being seen with Future. The show ended after the song finished playing out.
The show had all the makings of an all-time great concert, and it more than delivered. Everything went above and beyond. Some specific highlights other than the ones already mentioned were the pyro and the innovative jumbotron designs. The pyro was absolutely insane with fireworks, flames and other pyrotechnics. The jumbotron was also absolutely electric with nearly every song having a new filter on Travis Scott.
There was also a crazy floor area. By the Pit C area, there was a drop tower as if it were a theme park. Scott’s stage was unique looking like a massive rock section with twists and turns.
This show has been well-received since the second it ended and will be remembered for years to come as one of the best concerts in hip-hop history and, potentially, even music history. Travis Scott has once again proved his value as one of the best performers hip hop has ever seen.
