The long-awaited, highly anticipated, and ever-volatile Something in the Water festival missed its original Dec. 31, 2024, deadline to release information about the artist lineup and tickets. However, despite threats to hold them accountable for breaching their contract, the city council of Virginia Beach opted to give them an extension.
After an initially strong start, COVID-19, weather concerns and poor planning efforts led to postponements of the original April 2024 dates, as well as the revised October 2024 dates.
Many Virginia Beach residents are fed up with the amount of fuss surrounding the festival, just for it to end in continuous disappointment, and believe that this recent deadline miss is a continuation of a common trend.
“There’s got to be a time when we say, ‘This is it, folks,’” city councilwoman Barbara Henley said.
On the other hand, proponents of the Pharell-founded festival point out that the festival brings tons of tourism revenue to the city and has helped to bring national relevance to the city of Virginia Beach.
“Everybody in the community looks forward to the event every year,” senior and prospective attendee Will Maisenbacher said. “Though the postponements and delays are slight annoyances, I think the festival planners will make up for it in the end.”
In the end, festival liaison on the city council, Amelia Ross-Hammond eventually introduced a motion to delay enforcement of the contract breach, which, despite heavy skepticism and apprehension, passed with a vote of 8-2, breathing life into Something in the Water once again.
“It’s going to be good for the hotels. It’s going to be good for everybody. Let’s give them a chance,” said mayor Bobby Dyer.
