Pharrell has decided to postpone his troubled Something In the Water festival for half a year — and he did it after tickets already went on sale.
On Friday (September 13), just hours after tickets had become available to Virginia residents, Skateboard P shared a message on the festival’s social media accounts announcing that the Virginia Beach festival, planned for October 12-13, was going to be moved to April 2025. Ticket sales had just been announced the previous day.
The festival, Pharrell said, “just isn’t ready yet. That’s why we as a team have decided we must postpone this year’s SOMETHING IN THE WATER FESTIVAL… This has to be EPIC, and trust me, after this long wait, it will be.”
Check the entire message below.
The news struck as hundreds of people were in line for tickets.
“I won’t lie, I was frustrated because it literally happened as I hit pay and the money left my account,” one disappointed fan told 13News Now.
People who already bought tickets will be refunded and will have “first access” to get passes once new dates are announced, Pharrell’s message said.
Something In the Water has had a troubled history since its 2019 debut. Its 2020 and 2021 iterations were canceled due to the pandemic. The following year, it moved from Virginia Beach to Washington, D.C., with Pharrell citing city officials’ unsatisfactory response to the fatal shooting of his cousin by Virginia Beach police.
In 2023, the festival moved back to Virginia Beach, but its third day was canceled due to bad weather.
In other rough Pharrell news, he admitted in a new interview that he is no longer on speaking terms with Chad Hugo amid their legal dispute over the ownership of their production duo The Neptunes.
Skateboard P touched on his fractured relationship with his former friend and collaborator in a discussion with The Hollywood Reporter, although he said he “wishes him the best.”
When asked if he and Hugo are speaking, Pharrell replied: “No. But I love him, and I always wish him the absolute best, and I’m very grateful for our time together.”
The N.E.R.D. legend also confirmed that his upcoming LEGO biopic Piece By Piece still features the voice of Hugo, who appears as himself, despite their falling out.