Pharrell’s annual celebration of music and arts, Something In The Water, may have to find a new home. The site of the festival — Pharrell’s hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia, is reportedly moving on from the festival after organizers failed to meet the city’s deadline to unveil the lineup of performing artists and commence ticket sales.
“While the City values the positive impact and visibility the Something in the Water festival has had on Virginia Beach in years past, regretfully, organizers did not meet the cure notice requirements in terms of next steps,” representatives of Virginia Beach, Virginia, stated. “The SITW team will receive an official termination notice from the city. As a result, city staff will begin alternative plans for the weekend of April 26-27. We remain optimistic about future opportunities to work with the SITW team.”
Something In The Water has not issued a statement regarding the matter. However, it wouldn’t be the first time festival organizers and the city of Virginia Beach did not see eye to eye.
In 2019, Pharrell hosted Something In The Water in his hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia, with Missy Elliott, Timbaland, and others performing. In 2020 and 2021, the festival was canceled due to the spread of COVID-19. Then, Pharrell’s cousin, Donovan Lynch, was killed by a Virginia Beach Police officer in March 2021, prompting the mega-producer to move the festival out of the city and to Washington, D.C., in March of 2022. In December 2022, the city of Virginia Beach agreed to pay a $3 million settlement to Lynch’s family. Months later, Pharrell’s festival returned to Virginia Beach, but problems soon followed. The 2023 festival got off to a delayed start on day one before canceling day three due to poor weather conditions.
In 2024, Pharrell and company planned to move the festival from April to October to avoid bad weather. By September of 2024, Pharrell and his team decided to revert to its initial schedule, postponing the previously announced fall 2024 festival to spring 2025. Two months after the festival was moved from the fall back to the spring, Virginia Beach Mayor Robert Dyer expressed frustration with the event’s organizers.
“I am not a happy camper,” Dyer said in November. “Don’t mistake kindness for weakness. This is what I consider a culture of arrogance and disrespect for this council and the people of Virginia.”
Something In The Water Executive Producer Robert Walls expressed disappointment with the mayor’s comments and reassured the mayor his team was not trying to mislead the city.
“Heartbreaking is the word that’s coming to mind. I’m sure there’s a more eloquent way to say it—when the vibe is arrogance because that’s definitely not the intent,” Wells said.
As the festival prepares to kick off this spring with Coachella and other prominent events, it’s unclear if Something In The Water will find a new home in 2025.
