The 2019 Something in the Water festival felt like a revelation for Virginia Beach.
Organized and headlined by native-son-turned-global-superstar Pharrell Williams, it put a spotlight on the incredible musical talent to emerge from Hampton Roads and cast the Beach as an emerging center for culture and art.
As a result, Williams’ recent decision to end the festival — delivered in a scathing letter to city officials — is an enormous and costly setback for the city, one that Williams has laid at the doorsteps of City Hall.
City officials continue to court Williams, hoping he will change his mind and bring the festival back in 2022. But, given the reasons he cited for the decision, that seems unlikely without serious introspection and structural changes within Virginia Beach.
Williams’ primary complaint, cited in his Oct. 5 letter, is the city’s handling of a series of Oceanfront shootings on March 26 that left two people dead and eight wounded. One of those killed was Williams’ cousin Donovon Lynch, 25, who was shot by a Beach police officer.
Police said Lynch was brandishing a gun at the officer, an allegation disputed by a friend of Lynch who witnessed the shooting. The officer did not have his body camera turned on, clouding a clear view of what happened. The Pilot reported in September that a special grand jury has been convened to investigate the incident.
“When we did the festival, it was to ease racial tension, to unify the region, bring about economic development opportunities and broaden the horizons of the local business community,” Williams wrote to City Manager Patrick Duhaney. “We achieved those things! I wish the same energy I’ve felt from Virginia Beach leadership upon losing the festival would have been similarly channeled following the loss of my relative’s life.”
Speaking at Lynch’s funeral in April, Williams outlined the sort of energy he wanted to see from city leaders, proposing a forum to discuss what Virginia Beach stands for and what type of community it aspires to be. He also questioned why it took a week for officials to call the family.
No forum, as described by Williams, ever took place. And while Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer twice discussed youth violence and possible solutions with other Hampton Roads mayors, and the police department has issued body cameras that begin recording when an officer draws a firearm, those don’t get to the heart of Williams’ justified concerns about racial discord and inclusiveness at the Beach.
Recall that the SITW festival was created after years of concern surrounding College Beach Weekend, an event that annually drew thousands of mostly Black college students to the Beach with no city-sanctioned activities. A city study suggested that organizing official events would provide attendees safe destinations to enjoy.
Beach officials approached Williams to request his assistance, and he proposed the idea of a festival. The city invested $1.1 million for transportation, police and sponsorship, but left the organizational details to his team. Virginia Beach reported the festival’s economic impact was $21.76 million, resulting in tax revenue of $1.19 million — a profit of about $285,000 over a typical College Beach Weekend. The total economic impact on Hampton Roads was $24.11 million.
Also important, but impossible to quantify, was the boost to Virginia Beach’s reputation. SITW saw Hampton Roads icons — Williams, Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, Timbaland — putting the region in a national spotlight. It was 757 pride on full display, the sort of positive PR no community can buy.
With plans for the festival to be an annual event — Williams envisioned something like Austin’s incredibly successful South by Southwest Festival celebrating music, art, film, dance and thought — it was as though Virginia Beach had captured magic in a bottle.
That opportunity now appears squandered, a loss for Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads and the commonwealth. Rather than aim their fire on Williams, city officials would do well to look inward and consider how to act constructively to improve relations and make substantive reforms.
