D.C. will be the 2022 site of Pharrell Williams鈥� 鈥淪omething in the Water鈥� music festival.
Traditionally held along the Virginia Beach oceanfront, the festival will instead be on and around Independence Avenue to mark Juneteenth weekend (June 17-19).
The lineup includes such heavy hitters as Jon Batiste; Ashanti and Ja Rule; Dave Matthews Band; Run the Jewels; and Thundercat. And because it鈥檚 in D.C., it will showcase some go-go acts: Backyard Band, Rare Essence and Sound of the City.
Also billed is 鈥淧harrell & Phriends & Some People We Can鈥檛 Announce.鈥�
Three-day passes will be available on at 10 a.m. Saturday. If you鈥檙e a Virginia resident, you can take advantage of a presale on Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fans who bought passes to previous 鈥淪omething in the Water鈥� festivals can order their passes even earlier 鈥� starting Wednesday at 10 a.m. and running through Thursday at 10 p.m.
鈥淒.C. has always been a deep inspiration to me as a person and a musician,鈥� Williams said in a statement Tuesday. 鈥淚t is the land where go-go music was birthed, which has provided so much for our people.鈥�
The festival is not just about music. Williams鈥� nonprofit initiative, Black Ambition, will host a competition for local Black and Latinx startup founders and other entrepreneurs, as well as panel discussions and similar events. It will also feature a marketplace to showcase products from such businesses.
And on Sunday, a free pop-up church service will be held in West Potomac Park, near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e celebrating music, if you鈥檙e celebrating Black excellence, if you鈥檙e drawing attention to the people who have dedicated their lives to knocking down barriers and uplifting our communities 鈥� then there is no better place to do that than in Washington, D.C.,鈥� Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement.
And it appears that D.C. will be the new home for the festival moving forward: In Tuesday鈥檚 announcement, Events DC鈥檚 Ralph Morton said Something in the Water will become 鈥渁 powerful tradition in D.C.鈥�
Last fall, Williams reportedly told leaders in Virginia Beach that he would move the festival away from the city鈥檚 oceanfront, because of how the city investigated the shooting death of his cousin Donovon Lynch by a police officer.
During a news conference Tuesday at D.C.鈥檚 Ballou High School, Williams said moving the festival to D.C. was about 鈥渆levating our mission and our intention.鈥�
鈥淎nd the greatest way to do that is to find the highest ground,鈥� he said.
Prices for three-day passes run from about $350 to $550, and it prompted one to question whether there’s ever been an event near the National Mall that was not free.
Bowser cited , among other events. The District has not invested anything in the fest, she said, but it will help with the usual safety and public works issues.
鈥淚 promised D.C. residents that we have to get people back downtown,” she said.
“We have to get people in our restaurants. We have to get people to fill our hotel rooms, so the city is going to be supportive. We’re going to reach out. We’re going to compete.鈥�
