VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. —
It’s one of the biggest events on the Hampton Roads calendar. Pharrell’s Something in the Water is an annual multiday event that typically takes at Virginia Beach’s oceanfront.
This year's festival, originally scheduled for October, was canceled the same day tickets went on sale. After learning of the news, Virginia Beach City Council members have demanded more protections and accountability from festival organizers—hoping to get plan in place for next year by Nov. 1.
"We've got to make sure we're communicating with city staff. Those dates need to be pretty well adhered to so we can do our side appropriately," Councilman David Hutcheson said.
When 13News Now reached out to the city on Nov. 1 to ask about those updated plans, they told us a contract has been drafted with organizers to make sure the city and festivalgoers are better prepared for when Something in the Water comes back.
RELATED: Virginia Beach City Council to consider additional contract conditions for Something in the Water
But people in Virginia Beach have questions about those plans -- questions they hope will be answered by the City Council on Tuesday. One local, Michael Holmes, is especially interested in knowing the lineup early on.
“I think what would be great is if they just nailed down the set list early on. That way people could get excited about it. You know, people get excited about who's going to show up," Holmes said.
Virginia Beach city officials have noted that Something in the Water is coming back in 2025, and organizers have requested April 26 and 27 as the dates for the music festival.