VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. —The Something in the Water (SITW) music festival, created by Virginia Beach native and music superstar Pharrell Williams, will not take place in April in Virginia Beach.

The city is moving on from hosting the festival after organizers failed to announce a lineup and commence ticket sales by the Monday deadline set by city leaders.

A city spokesperson confirmed with WTKR minutes before 5 p.m. Monday that they hadn’t received any updates from organizers regarding the lineup and tickets.

The city also released the following statement:

“While the City values the positive impact and visibility the Something in the Water festival has had on Virginia Beach in years past, regretfully, organizers did not meet the cure notice requirements in terms of next steps. The SITW team will receive an official termination notice from the city. As a result, city staff will begin alternative plans for the weekend of April 26-27. We remain optimistic about future opportunities to work with the SITW team.”

Last Tuesday, frustrated leaders gave SITW organizers a final ultimatum, insisting that the lineup and tickets be made available by the close of business Monday.

City leaders had previously backed off missed deadlines but decided to send organizers a notice of breach following a lack of substantial updates from organizers.

The initial deadline to drop the festival’s lineup and start ticket sales was Dec. 31, as outlined in a sponsorship agreement between organizers and the city.

SITW organizers have not yet issued a statement about the city’s most recent actions.

Something in the Water History

Something in the Water was started in 2019 to take place at the end of April, which was known as College Beach Weekend in Virginia Beach.

The first year of the festival was considered a great success.

The pandemic led to the cancellation of the festival in 2020 and 2021.

Pharrell then decided to move the festival to Washington, D.C., in 2022, following concerns over city leadership at the time.

In 2023, it returned to Virginia Beach but got off to a delayed start on the first day and was canceled on the third day due to weather.

In late 2023, festival organizers said they planned to move SITW from April 2024 to October 2024 in an effort to avoid bad weather.

In September 2024, Pharrell announced the festival was postponed and moved to April 2025.

Why Pharrell says ‘Something in the Water’ festival has been postponed until April 2025

In a November 2024 meeting, Virginia Beach Mayor Robert Dyer expressed his frustration with SITW organizers.

“I am not a happy camper,” Mayor Dyer said. “Don’t mistake kindness for weakness. This is what I consider a culture of arrogance and disrespect for this council and the people of Virginia.”

Dyer said he was “very angry” and gave the organizers until the end of business on Friday, Nov. 1, to sign a contract with the city.

Robby Wells, the executive producer for the event, assured Mayor Dyer that organizers of the event, including Virginia Beach’s own Pharrell Williams, are not trying to mislead the city, but there are a lot of moving parts.

Virginia Beach threatens to pull the plug on Something in the Water

“Heartbreaking is the word that’s coming to mind. I’m sure there’s a more eloquent way to say it—when the vibe is arrogance because that’s definitely not the intent,” said Wells.

This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.

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The Virginia Department of Health reported Monday that two children have died because of the flu. 

First pediatric deaths of flu season

The backstory:

They are the first two influenza-associated pediatric deaths of the 2024-2025 flu season, officials said.

“With a heavy heart, the Virginia Department of Health mourns the loss of two young lives. Our sympathies go out to the families during this difficult time,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Karen Shelton said in a statement. 

“These losses are a sad reminder that while flu is common, it can be associated with serious illness and even death.”

Health Department officials said that one of the deaths occurred in Virginia’s Eastern Region and involved a young school-aged child, meaning 5 -12 years old. 

They said the other death occurred in the Central Region of Virginia and involved a teenager.

Low flu vaccination rates in Virginia

What they’re saying:

Officials also pointed out that vaccination coverage remains low in the Commonwealth for both children and adults, adding that only 30 percent of eligible Virginians reported receiving a flu vaccine this season.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the low vaccination rate was not a surprise.

“We know nationally that rates of vaccination for influenza and other vaccines have all fallen off post-Covid, that people have become vaccine hesitant, that they’ve become complacent, and we know that when it comes to pediatric influenza deaths, one of the predictors is being unvaccinated,” Adalja told FOX 5. “So, when we see children die from influenza, often they are unvaccinated.”

It is unclear whether that was the case with the two recent Virginia deaths.

Still, state officials are urging Virginians to get vaccinated, wash their hands, cover up coughs and sneezes, and stay home when they feel sick.

Northern Virginia business owners are overwhelmingly optimistic about the region’s economy in the new year, but affordability has become a top concern for business leaders trying to attract new talent and new businesses to the region.

A survey of more than 100 CEOs, corporate executives and business owners conducted on behalf of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce by marketing firm Pinkston, found 81% are very or somewhat optimistic about their company’s performance in the next six months and 49% plan to hire.

According to George Mason University’s Stephen S. Fuller Institute, 46% of the Washington region’s economy is driven by Northern Virginia. But it is neither inexpensive to do business in Northern Virginia nor to live in the region. Both are hard sells.

“The biggest concern that I hear on a consistent basis among all employers is the question of affordability. And affordability is housing, it’s also child care, it’s basic cost of living,” said Julie Coons, who has served as CEO of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce since 2018.

“When I first got onboard, it was lack of skilled workers, which continues to be a challenge But it has now expanded into the driving factor around that for employers is affordability. It is a serious regional issue,” she said.

Northern Virginia companies can pull from a local pool of skilled workers to meet their growth needs, but the cost of living makes the region less attractive to professionals being recruited to the region and for companies looking to expand or relocate. In its survey, 27% of companies said it is more difficult to find qualified talent to hire now than it was a year ago, and 64% said it is about the same.

When asked about the new Trump administration, 46% of business leaders in Northern Virginia are hopeful for business-friendly changes, including extending tax cuts, reducing regulations, and transportation and infrastructure investment. But there are concerns about the new administration as well.

“Seventy-eight percent of business leaders expressed some concern about the incoming administration’s stated plans to relocate federal agencies outside of the DMV. We would see that as damaging to economic growth around the region,” Coons said.

Such moves would be part of the Administration’s advisory-only Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which could also reduce the federal government’s regional workforce. In the survey, 27% of business leaders said they were very concerned about the impact.

Other concerns about the new administration include tariffs, cited by 30% of business leaders, and immigration reform, cited by 16%.

Northern Virginia business leaders were also asked what priorities they have for the Virginia General Assembly in 2025. The top answers were tax cuts, transportation and infrastructure, keeping right-to-work, and public safety.

The business leader survey was conducted from Jan. 2 through Jan. 15 and included leaders of businesses of all sizes. Full survey results and methodology are online.

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