‘It’s Just Not Ready Yet’: Pharrell Williams Postpones Something in the Water

Just hours after pre-sales began for locals only, Virginia Beach’s Something In The Water festival was moved from its scheduled October date to April 2025.

On Instagram on September 13, festival founder and organizer Pharrell Williams wrote: “Virginia doesn’t deserve better, Virginia deserves THE BEST. So SOMETHING IN THE WATER has to live up to that. It’s just not ready yet.”

Originally scheduled for October 12-13 at the Veterans Home Loans Amphitheater, Something In The Water has yet to announce a final lineup. Williams started the festival in 2019 with a lineup that included Travis Scott, Missy Elliott, Migos and Pusha T. The 2020 and 2021 festivals were canceled due to the COVID pandemic. In 2022, Williams moved the festival from Virginia Beach to Washington, D.C., due to ongoing tensions with his hometown after his cousin was shot and killed by Virginia Beach police in March 2021. Last year, the festival returned to Virginia Beach, but the third day was canceled due to weather, prompting Williams to move it from its traditional April weekend to October for 2024. Now it looks like it will be moved back to April for 2025.

Hotels told local television station WTKR they expected full houses for the weekend and had already hired staff for the expected late-season influx.