I had an opportunity to attend the S.I.T.W. music festival this year. I wanted to share my experience with those that did not go but are interested in going next year or with those that need a little information from a 1st hand experience. This information will be beneficial, so I hope you enjoy it.

Let’s start with a bit of background first. Something In The Water Music Festival is an annual Virginia Beach, Virginia festival. It was created by Pharrell Williams, a famous rapper, singer, and songwriter native of Virginia.

The festival debuted in 2019, attracting thousands of attendees across the United States. It was temporarily relocated from its coastal city of residence to the capital of the nation, Washington D.C.

This year’s festival marked the 1st time back in the city of Virginia Beach post-Covid; and there was a lot of buzz surrounding how things were going to be this time around.

The festival’s main objective is to celebrate the diversity and culture of Virginia Beach and showcase the talent of musicians from all over the world. This festival is unique because it is one of the only music festivals directly located on a beach.

Another fact is that Pharrell initially stated that he wanted to bring Something positive to cut down on the increasing violence occurring on Virginia Beach Ocean Front during “College Beach Week.” S.I.T.W. brings a lot of revenue to the area of Virginia Beach.

What I enjoy about this festival is the number of people it brings to the area; it is not often you can see thousands of people on the beach without some chaos.

The artists all are amazing and have their own unique fanbases as well. It was also my first time seeing many of the performers live; I have always heard them on television or the radio, but seeing artists in person is an entirely different experience.

I want to take this segment to further elaborate on the pros and cons of S.I.T.W.

Pros of the Festival

Great Music

Pharrell, being the musical icon he is, can organize and complete a solid list of musical guests annually. Since attending the festival in April 2019, I have seen a range of artists, from Jay-Z, Pusha T, and Busta Rhymes to Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg, and Missy Elliott.

This year is no different, now that the festival has two stages, the Solar and Lunar stage. Pharrell increased the opportunities to see even more artists perform than in previous years.

Here is the run down, the festival starts roughly around 12pm each day. for the next 12 hours, musical artists of different genres perform back-to-back with about 10–15 interval breaks in between.

This gives festival attendees time to get from one stage to the other. I found that there were artists on each step, so there was never a moment where I wasn’t on the stage. This year I saw Kid Cudi, Summer Walker, Wale, Latto, S.W.V., Jonas Brothers, Lil Yachty, and Lil Wayne, to name a few.

Before this festival I could count on 1 hand how many artists I have seen, and that number has now quadrupled since attending S.I.T.W.

Also, there is a segment on Saturday night called “Pharrell & Friends,” where Pharrell performs on the Solar stage and brings out a few guests.

Some are announced, and others are a mystery until the set begins. It was a very live and high-energy performance, worthy of the event’s highlight. No other performance is going on during this time period, there were so many people there but I still was able to have a good viewing of the stage via the multiple huge monitors that extended half a football field’s distance.

If you were too tired or just couldn’t make the distance to the stage or monitors, the show was also streaming live on YouTube!

Location

Something in the Water takes place in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a coastal city known for its beautiful beaches and lively atmosphere.

The festival’s beachfront setting provides a stunning backdrop for live performances, and attendees can take full advantage of the nearby amenities, such as restaurants, bars, and water sports.

In April, the weather is warm enough to be very pleasant on the beach; this year, the weather on Saturday was perfect during the daytime.

Community Builder

The festival experience itself is what makes Something in the Water so unique. The festival is not only about music but also celebrates the culture and community of Virginia Beach.

The festival organizers arrange various activities, including art installations, pop-up shops, and food vendors, providing attendees with an immersive experience.

Black Girl Ventures (a D.C.-based venture capital firm) partnered with Black Ambition (a nonprofit started by Pharrell Williams) and created a business event for local entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas for a chance to win 25,000. This is one of many examples that take place during this time.

On Sunday is the Pop-Up Church Service, a free community event from noon to 8pm, where gospel guests and choirs come together in celebration and love. It is an event that many people in the area look forward to attending.

Even though this event was free it included some heavy hitters in the Gospel community such as Kirk Franklin and Tye Tribbett.

Needs for Improvement

S.I.T.W. is a great experience, shining a light on the positive can, and most aspects show areas needing improvement. I will write a few areas that need progress in the hopes that the festival will make changes; that will only bring an even better experience to the festival and its attendees.

I will also give solutions; being from Virginia myself, I am familiar with some of the obstacles that hinder S.I.T.W.

Move the Dates

April in Virginia can be a rainy month. The saying “April Showers, bring May flowers” is an understatement with the amount of rain and storms we can have in the spring season.

I mentioned before that the event was held earlier in the year to bring something positive to the community in replace of “Beach Week.”

However, the festival canceling the performances due to extreme weather conditions can leave many disappointed that they blocked off this time of year to see their favorite artist have them canceled due to a change in weather.

Fans make significant sacrifices to be included, and the amount of money spent on lodging, food, and travel does not justify receiving a 3rd of the base ticket price as a refund.

This year Friday was postponed for about 5 hours, and on Sunday, it was canceled altogether after an announcement was made there would be tornados and thunderstorms in the vicinity and surrounding vicinity. This is the 2nd year S.I.T.W. has had to delay or cancel days due to weather.

I suggest adjusting the festival dates from April to a month when it does rain less, such as June or July. Virginia weather is unpredictable, but we would avoid factors such as wind chill and the temper dropping into the low-60s F and mid-50s F.

I found myself packing clothes and preparing for all wear this year just from not knowing if it is warm or freezing outside.

Musical Lineup

I applaud the lineup every year for its diversity and for including artists I would never see follow after one another on stage, such as Lil Yachty following after the Jonas Brothers and Jay Pharoah doing a stand-up comedy show in between music sets, (hilarious by the way).

The problem lies in not knowing who will be performing until a couple weeks before the festival begins, but tickets were bought in November last year.

It’s like buying a mystery that leaves fans guessing and trying to solve for 6 months, which can appear disingenuous to those making a sacrifice to be a part of the festival’s attendance. Even “Pharrell’s Friends,” which is the peak of the weekend, fell a little flat because it was primarily previous guests from past years, such as Busta Rhymes, P Diddy, or artists that had performed earlier in the day, like Latto.

Even the Chris Brown appearance wasn’t a shocker as he performed previously in 2019 as a surprised guest. If the allure is going to be the “mystery” than Pharrell has to keep fans guessing with his line-up.

The 2019 line-up of Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, P. Diddy, Snoop, Usher, Busta Rhymes combination set the bar really high and fans are looking for him to deliver.

A possible solution is communicating more with the fans and supporters of the festival. Attempting to buy the tickets is stressful; you compete with thousands of people for a limited number of tickets and tickets come in various price ranges, starting in the $150 range; and this is general admission.

Giving ticket buyers months in advance at least to know headliners would build momentum and be more positive marketing than withholding said information.

Utilize the S.I.T.W. app and create engagement year-round to get fans excited and artists interested in participating in the festival.

Price Gouging and Lodging

This one is solely not the responsibility of Pharrell and his festival team, but he created a partnership with Airbnb this year. In searching for a room for the weekend, every form of lodging, whether hotels or Airbnb prices, was higher than ever before.

Now this is the city’s premier music festival, so paying more is expected but the quality has to be set to a certain standard. If people do not feel comfortable residing in their place of stay, they will choose to not attend S.I.T.W.

The issues with the hotels are that they are outdated; some of them were built in 2005 (such as the Hilton Virginia Oceanfront). It doesn’t seem that long ago, but that is almost 20 years.

If the hotels take the off-season during the fall and winter months to update their rooms, that will improve the quality of experience and the reputation for staying in oceanfront hotels.

I have seen other events get group rates for hotels in their event area. Adding group rates or blocked-off rooms would help fans who bought tickets afford the experience without breaking the bank.

The one thing you don’t want to do is price out those that have supported you since the 1st S.I.T.W. in 2019.

Airbnb is experiencing its own issues during the festival as well, one that Pharrell has had to speak on in the past and that is availability of quality homes to stay in.

I have been a victim of not 1 but 2 incidents while attending the music festival. The 1st incident occurred in 2019 when I booked a room and was not allowed entry.

The owner was trying to scam my travel group out of money, which I rectified by getting Airbnb involved. We still had to choose another place to stay that weekend, but it worked out for the best.

The 2nd incident was this year, and it was much worse. Unable to find a place close enough to the event and accommodate my group of 7, we booked an updated space right outside the festival and a strip of restaurants and stores; the house was found on V.R.B.O. (be careful in using this app, read all reviews) and, without a doubt, was too good to be true.

Unfortunately, on the first night of our stay, we discovered the place was not up to living conditions for anyone and that the owner neglected to do his due diligence to maintain the home.

The hassle of finding a place would be my breaking point as I live in the Hampton Roads area and know that the best option is to reside near the festival to avoid traffic each day and in the case of bad weather at least traveling will be cut to a minimum.

My recommendation is incentivizing more homeowners to open their doors for the weekend with free tickets to the first 50 homeowners. The lack of availability in the area led to price hikes, and many homeowners ended up lowering their prices by hundreds of dollars on Airbnb.

Airbnb could also recommend giving homeowners credit towards an Airbnb rental of their choice for their own vacation, because with the festival growing, Pharrell will rely on the help of his city residents to support him and create available rental properties for the thousands of attendees.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Something in the Water Music Festival’s location in Virginia Beach offers festival-goers a unique opportunity to enjoy live music against the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean, perfect weather during the festival’s timeframe easily will make this not only a top Virginia attraction but a drawing card for the entire East Coast.

This weekend event is putting Virginia Beach on the radar and could attract more business to the Hampton Roads area

I enjoyed my weekend at Something In The Water. More than I thought I would, I had reservations about attending because I knew the cost, how stressful it would be to find a place to stay, and the weather forecast for at least a week in advance.

Also, I didn’t know what artist would be performing and if I would be interested in walking back and forth between both stages: “Lunar and Solar”; however when I arrived at the beach, the atmosphere was out of this world.

Seeing so many people enjoying themselves on the beach, plus I didn’t even hear of 1 altercation. The energy from the music filled the air, and there was love and peace this weekend, it definitely was a vibe.

The festival is on the right track because Pharrell is a leader of the people; he will heed and take advice to make adjustments.

If anything, I hope he can read this and see solutions that can help make the Something In The Water Music Festival better, and it should be on everyone’s radar for 2024.

Did you attend the S.I.T.W. this year? If so, how did you enjoy it? What were4 your favorite moments? Are there any changes you would like to see implemented in the upcoming years? Please let me know your thoughts on your experience…. Comment and let’s share opinions……