Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water festival is set to return to Virginia Beach next year. The three-day music, arts and culture festival will take place April 28 to April 30, 2023.
“The demand for the festival in Virginia Beach and The 757 -- among the people -- has never wavered. If anything it has only intensified,” Pharrell, a Virginia Beach native, says in a statement.
“College Beach Weekend continues every year and the city of Virginia Beach leaders have been eager to reconcile and move forward,” he continues. “The environment is finally optimized for return and the announcement will delight everyone -- from HBCU students across the eastern USA to the hundreds of small businesses who will play a role in the festival to the cities within the region and neighborhoods that will serve as hosts.”
“I need to come back home,” he concludes. “There is a pervasive feeling by almost everyone that the festival belongs in Virginia Beach, and the time is right to bring it back.”
Last year's festival took place in Washington, D.C. after Pharrell decided to pull the event from his hometown following the fatal police shooting of a family member. He had accused the city’s leaders of having “toxic energy.”
The full lineup for this year’s festival will be announced soon. Three-day passes go on sale November 5 at 12 p.m. ET on SomethingintheWater.com.