Pharrell Williams to host music festival in DC on Juneteenth

Music producer Pharrell Williams announced that his music festival, Something in the Water, will return in Washington, D.C., during Juneteenth weekend after a two-year hiatus.

Williams, one half of the acclaimed hip-hop producing duo The Neptunes, made the announcement on Tuesday along with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D). 

Williams said at the news conference that many communities and mayors had “raised their hands” to have the music festival in their cities but that festival organizers had decided on the “significant time” and “significant place” of Juneteenth weekend and D.C.

“We thought about … lifting this opportunity and elevating our mission and our intention, and the greatest way to do that is to find the highest ground in this nation, and that’s our nation’s capital. And so we chose the significant time and a significant place. The significant place was Independence Avenue, and the significant time was during the Juneteenth weekend,” Williams said. 

“Where all kinds of human beings regardless to your color, your creed or sexual orientation or not. If you have a heart and your chest, a brain in your head and blood in your body, you’re welcome to Something in the Water,” he added.

The 2022 lineup will include musical acts by Tyler, the Creator, Pusha T, Lil Baby, Ashanti, Ja Rule, Chloe x Halle, Snoh Aalegra, Dominic Fike, Jon Batiste and Mariah the Scientist. 

The festival will also feature local D.C. go-go bands, including Backyard Band, Rare Essence and Sound of the City. 

Something in the Water was launched in 2019, with Williams’s hometown of Virginia Beach, Va., being the inaugural host of the three-day music festival. 

The festival was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Williams later indicated that it would not be returning to Virginia Beach because of his disappointment in the city’s response to the death of his cousin Donovon Lynch, who was shot by a police officer in March 2021.

“I love my city, but for far too long it has been run by and with toxic energy,” Williams said in a letter to Virginia Beach leadership in October.

Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle (R) announced in November that Virginia Beach police officer Solomon D. Simmons, the officer involved in the 25-year-old Lynch’s death, wouldn’t face criminal charges in the incident.  

Lynch’s family filed a $50 million federal lawsuit against Simmons and the city, alleging that Lynch posed no threat at the time of the incident and was fired upon by Simmons without any warning. 

When asked about the decision to move the festival out of his native city, Williams said that “you got to rise above” the painful events in Virginia Beach and praised Bowser’s efforts to make people feel welcome in the DMV region.

“I mean, listen, yes, there were some events there. And it was pretty painful. But you know what? You got to rise above it,” Williams said. “But we didn’t want to stop there. And so many people had so much fun that we just decided to take it up a notch, right? Just let’s just find the highest ground possible in symbolism and in poetry, and that ended up being our nation’s capital.”

“No matter who you are as a human being, you’re welcome to come and have fun with us and spend time with us during Juneteenth weekend. A lot of good food, lots of good music, a lot of culture, a lot of merch,” Williams said. “It’s gonna be really lit.”