Famous musician and Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams recently postponed his annual Something in the Water festival after previously pushing it to the fall of this year.
After attracting 33,000 attendees and bringing in $29 million for the city of Virginia Beach in 2023, the 2024 festival, initially scheduled for the end of April, was moved to Oct. 12 and 13.
Later, on Sept. 13, 2024, the festival organizers held a special, “Virginia Beach-only sale” of festival tickets. Following promises of the artist lineup dropping later that day, lines for the sale, which offered $180 three-day passes, stretched all the way from the Amphitheater to Landstown High School.
Those in line would end up very disappointed.
“It was truly heartbreaking,” previous attendee Jonathan Del Rosario said. “Postponing is one thing, but doing so right after holding a Virginia Beach-only sale is extremely disrespectful to the city.”
Later that day, Pharrell would announce that Something in the Water would have to wait until April of 2025, a year after its original date.
“It just isn’t ready yet,” Pharrell said. “Virginia doesn’t deserve better, Virginia deserves the best.”
Festival organizers have promised full refunds to all ticket buyers, but that can be a long, drawn-out process, and is not enough to make up for wasted anticipation and time in line in the eyes of many Virginians.
“I think when you promise people an event you need to follow through,” special education teacher Stephanie Garner said. “People had already bought plane tickets and made other non-refundable accommodations.”
Regardless of the disappointment, Something in the Water is sure to attract flocks of crowds who have loved past iterations when it finally does return in 2025.
“I had a great experience, the weather wasn’t great, but I had an awesome time,” Garner said.
