By: Aaryan Sama
“We gotta fill the stands up with slaps and the anthems,” yelled Travis Scott to his sold-out New Jersey crowd, beginning his one-night-only show with UTOPIA opener “HYAENA.” After the conclusion of his Circus Maximus tour in the United States at the end of 2023, fans were shocked in July 2024 when Jacques Webster, known by stage name Travis Scott, announced a one-night-only performance at MetLife Stadium on the 9th of October. Many fans speculated which surprise guests Scott could bring out after announcing that he would be “bringing friends.” Many guessed appearances from Playboi Carti, SZA, and Kanye West, given that a video of Scott sound-checking West’s hit “Runaway” circulated hours before the show.
With a shockingly short but energetic opening set from Brooklyn hip-hop group 41, who played hits such as “Bent,” “Beckham,” and their current viral collaboration with NLE
Choppa, “Or What.” Fans were dissatisfied due to the hurried nature of the opening set, given that they opened when Scott was expected to come on stage, and their set ended very abruptly. Thirty minutes later, Scott appeared before a crowd of tens of thousands, opening his set with the first 3 songs off his latest LP, UTOPIA.
Given the recent release of his 2014 mixtape Days Before Rodeo on digital streaming, Scott called a few fans on stage to “rage” to his newly premiered “Mo City Flexologist.” He then brought out fellow Cactus Jack member Sheck Wes to perform his 2018 hit “Mo Bamba,” being the first guest appearance of the night during Scott’s set. After continuing the usual Circus Maximus setlist, Scott played his hit rage trap “FE!N” five times, which was surprisingly low given that he has played the song up to seventeen times at his shows. However, the fifth time proved special to the fans in attendance as he brought out his collaborator Playboi Carti to perform his verse on the track. After this, an atmospheric intro to Future’s hit with Carti and Scott, “Type S***,” played as the “Mask Off” rapper joined them on stage to perform their song together for the first time. As the show neared its ending, Scott played “Apple Pie” off his debut album, Rodeo, live for the first time since 2016 to commemorate his parents, who were at the concert. To the audience’s surprise, he played “FE!N” twice more before walking off to “TELEKINESIS,” seen with his Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho collaborator Quavo. This memorable star-packed night concluded the final Circus Maximus show to be played in the United States, as Scott is concluding his Australia and New Zealand leg as of now.
