Event returns to Washington DC
Pharrell Williams has announced the return of his Something in the Water Festival (SITW). Produced by Redrock Entertainment and Live Nation, the festival will take place in Washington, DC from June 17-19th. SITW will celebrate art, culture and music with performances by 6LACK, Adekunle Gold, Ashanti & Ja Rule,Ashe, Baby Tate, Baird, BIA, Blxst, Calvin Harris, Chloe x Halle, Dave Matthews Band, Davido, Denzel Curry, DJ Domo, Dominic Fike, Dreamer Isioma, Duckwrth, EARTHGANG, Emotional Oranges, ericdoa, Gracie Abrams, Hope Tala, Jean Dawson, Jeremy Zucker, JID, Jon Batiste, Lakeyah, Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert, Lucky Daye, María Isabel, Mariah the Scientist, Moneybagg Yo, Montell Fish, Ogi, Omar Apollo, Ozuna, Paris Texas, Pharrell & Phriends, Pusha T, Q, Quinn XCII, Rae Sremmurd, Raveena, Rei Ami, Roddy Ricch, ROLE MODEL, Run The Jewels, Saba, Sabrina Claudio, Skepta, Skiifall, Skillibeng, slowthai, Snoh Aalegra, Syd, Teyana Taylor, Thundercat, T.I., Tierra Whack, Tobe Nwigwe, Tokischa, Tyler, The Creator, Usher, YVNGXCHRIS with more artists to be announced soon. The festival will also feature Go-Go musicians including Backyard Band, Rare Essence and Sound of the City.
This year the festivities will be expanded to three stages, situated in the heart of our nation’s capital, directly on Independence Avenue and its adjacent streets.
Three day passes will go on sale to the general public beginning Saturday, April 30th at 10 am local time via somethinginthewater.com. Fans who purchased passes for previous years will have an exclusive presale for the 2022 festival on Wednesday, April 27th from 10 am ET until Thursday, April 28th at 10 pm ET.
In addition, Virginia residents will have special access to a “Virginia Locals Only” presale taking place on Friday, April 29th beginning at 10 am ET through 5 pm ET. Residents can purchase festival passes in-person at the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach box office, restricted to VA zip codes. Fees are waived for the in-person purchase.
Something in the Water will continue its mission to unite communities, celebrate diversity and empower everyone from the youth to small business owners in Washington, DC.
In 2020, Williams went on a mission to convince his home state of Virginia to recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday. With success, he joined forces with other thought leaders, governors and large corporations to pledge to make Juneteenth an officially recognized holiday as well. The movement was powerful and took on a life of its own, with President Biden declaring Juneteenth a national holiday.
So this year, Pharrell will bring the event to the nation’s capital, on an important weekend in the country’s history, to recognize that something that has been flowing through the country’s soil for over 400 years. Williams will gather the biggest artists on the nation’s front doorstep to show what this day means and provide a glimpse of its potential.
With the festival’s emphasis on community, this year Williams will bring together the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia) to highlight and uplift the communities across the region. The festival has strived to fight systemic issues for historically marginalized communities as it relates to opportunities in education, business and jobs, and this year is no different. While the festival itself has relocated to Washington, DC, the impact of SITW on behalf of the 757 remains strong with sponsors showing up to support Hampton Roads with subsequent community engagements beyond the festival, many of which will be activated through Pharrell’s 501(c)(3) non-profit, Yellow, whose mission is to even the odds through education. Sponsor details and local activations to be announced soon.
XQ Institute will also join this year’s festival to host interactive, community-centered events highlighting XQ’s emerging partnership with DC Public Schools and to commemorate the 2022 graduating class of high school students across the nation.
Sunday will feature the return of the Pop-Up Church Service from a stage in West Potomac Park, home of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. This event will be free for the community, the lineup will be announced soon.
