September 15, 2024
Pharrell announced the Virginia Beach event will now take place in April 2025.
Pharrell Williams has canceled this year’s Something In the Water Festival. He announced the Virginia Beach event will now take place in April 2025.
The two-day music festival was scheduled to start Oct. 12. However, the mega-producer shared the news of its delay to Instagram. In the post, he declared the reason as not being “ready yet” for its thousands of expected attendees.
“Virginia doesn’t deserve better, Virginia deserves THE BEST,” he wrote. “So SOMETHING IN THE WATER has to match that. It just isn’t ready yet. That’s why we as a team have decided we must postpone this year’s SOMETHING IN THE WATER festival that was due to take place in October.”
The “Happy” singer emphasized that the event is to celebrate the people and culture of Virginia. The inaugural event began in 2019 with headliners such as Travis Scott, Virginia native Missy Elliot, and rap group Migos.
He added, “This is not a Pharrell festival, this is the state of Virginia’s festival so it has to be the best. Virginia made me, and I want to honor it with as much love as it’s shown me my entire life. And you know me, everywhere I go it’s VA.”
This year’s lineup remained unknown before a ticket sale for “locals only” on Sept. 13. Despite tickets sold to numerous Virginia residents, Pharrell later announced the festival’s postponement that same day.
Moreover, the festival has hurdled prior issues before. Williams moved its location to Washington, D.C., in 2022 after a Virginia Beach police officer killed his cousin Donovan Lynch. Following a settlement for Lynch’s family, the festival returned to its original home the following year. However, it also had to cancel its third day of festivities due to bad weather.
While the festival has struggled to regain its footing, Williams remains adamant about keeping the party going for Virginia residents and music lovers alike. Those who bought tickets will receive refunds with first access to repurchase for the new dates.
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