The countdown’s on — there are fewer than 100 days until Something in the Water returns to Virginia Beach.
The music festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 12 and Sunday, Oct. 13 at the Oceanfront, according to the festival’s official social media accounts. The dates coincide with the U.S. release of the Pharrell Williams LEGO biopic “Piece by Piece” on Oct. 11.
WVEC initially reported the dates confirmed by sources “close to Pharrell.” The Virginia Beach Hotel Association confirmed the dates in an email to members, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
Festival organizers posted a brief video featuring the Roman goddess Virtus standing over Tyranny in the Atlantic Ocean with the Virginia Beach Oceanfront behind her, a play on the image of the Virginia state seal. The announcement didn't include information about artists or tickets.
@somethinginthewater somethinginthewater.com | October 12 & 13
♬ original sound - SOMETHING IN THE WATER
The festival returned to Virginia Beach last year after a three-year absence.
Something in the Water last year was punctuated by rainy weather and a tornado that canceled some acts. In a letter to fans on social media, Williams said he was looking to move the festival’s dates to the fall to avoid weather cancellations that plagued the festival in 2023 and 2019.
A presentation to city council last December showed the festival planned for October this year but didn’t include dates.
The 2023 rendition featured acts like Lil Wayne, Arcade Fire, Wet Leg and Kamasi Washington. Pharrell’s Phriends — sets from Williams, Busta Rhymes, M.I.A., A$AP Rocky and Chris Brown — headlined.
Williams conceived the festival in 2018 to provide more organized activities for the popular College Beach Weekend and as a way to rebuild trust between Black visitors and residents and Virginia Beach.
The three-day event premiered in 2019, but was canceled due to Covid-19 in 2020. In 2022, it moved to Washington D.C. after Williams voiced his disappointment with the city’s handling of a Beach police officer fatally shooting his cousin, Donovon Lynch.
Unlike the festival in 2019, which was run with no direct city money, the 2023 festival received an up-front sum of $500,000 from the city and a $2 million tax incentive.
It generated a $27.7 million statewide economic impact and around $1.5 million in city tax revenue last year.
