Something in the Water brings crowds back to beach

Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water made a splashy comeback to Virginia Beach from April 28-30, although wind and rain delayed the music festival’s start, and lightning and a tornado watch canceled the entire last day. Organizers promised attendees a one-third refund for tickets, which sold for $125 to $600.

Williams, a Virginia Beach native, multi-Platinum-selling recording artist and men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton, said via Instagram, “Next year we will shift the dates because this rain ain’t playing, but we will be!”

Hotel occupancy at the Oceanfront was between 70% and 90% April 28 and 29, says John Zirkle Jr., president of the Virginia Beach Hotel Association, although many visitors left early Sunday after the festival’s final day was canceled.

Nevertheless, food vendors saw long lines. “People paid too much for these tickets to skip it for a little rain,” Andy McGinley, owner of Richmond-based Momma’s BBQ, said during the weather delay on the festival’s first day. On the evening of April 30, after the concert had been canceled, an EF-3 tornado damaged 50 to 100 homes in the Great Neck area, about seven miles northwest of the concert area.

Final attendance and economic impact totals were not available by Virginia Business’ mid-May deadline. In 2019, the debut SITW festival sold 35,000 tickets and garnered $24 million in revenue for Hampton Roads.

Norfolk International Airport saw an uptick in the week ahead of the festival, tallying about 14,000 passengers on April 27, notes Executive Director Mark Perryman.

The festival also presented an opportunity for Virginia Beach economic development officials to woo business to the city. The city government purchased about 35 VIP passes from festival organizers at a pre-negotiated rate to give to economic development prospects. The economic deals represented by those prospects could add up to a potential $1.6 billion in new investment and 6,500 jobs, according to Taylor Adams, deputy city manager and director of economic development.

Other activities around SITW included A Seat at the Table, a benefit for the Urban League of Hampton Roads, which creates business opportunities for local minority-owned companies. It was held at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach.

A Seat at the Table “was sold out, with over 500 attendees — a diverse gathering of ages, ethnicities and professional interests,” says Gilbert Bland, president and CEO of the Urban League.