Fans will have to wait until next year to see what Pharrell Williams has planned for the fourth edition of the Something In The Water festival. The convergence of art, culture, and music in Skateboard P’s hometown of Virginia Beach was expected to take place Oct. 12-13.

On Friday (Sept. 13), just as tickets for the anticipated event went on pre-sale, a decision to postpone the extravaganza was announced. The 13-time Grammy Award-winner broke the news in posts shared across the festival’s social media accounts. In the open letter to Virginia, he first declared, “I love you with all my heart. Nobody loves you more than I do.”

He then explained, “Virginia doesn’t deserve better, Virginia deserves THE BEST. So SOMETHING IN THE WATER has to match that. It just isn’t ready yet. That’s why we as a team have decided we must postpone this year’s SOMETHING IN THE WATER festival that was due to take place in October.”

As the message continued, it read, “This is not a Pharrell festival, this is the state of Virginia’s festival, so it has to be the best. Virginia made me, and I want to honor it with as much love as it’s shown me my entire life. And you know me, everywhere I go, it's VA….I am so grateful to our amazing sponsors and the city for their continued support and trust in us to get this right, and that time is April 2025,” he wrote, soothing over some of the disappointment with, “This has to be EPIC, and trust me, after this long wait, it will be.”

Eager attendees who purchased passes on Friday will be refunded as well as given first access when tickets for next year’s dates are made available. Williams launched Something In The Water in grand fashion in 2019. The lineup of performers included fellow VA natives Missy Elliott and Pusha T, as well as SZA, Lil Uzi Vert, and Migos, to name just a few of the chart-topping acts.

The festival returned for a second year in Washington, D.C., in 2022, with one of the major highlights being a Clipse reunion that reenergized demand for the rap duo to deliver a new project. Fans can finally rest assured that an album featuring Williams’ production is forthcoming.

Last year’s festival took place April 28-30 with musical guests A$AP Rocky, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, M.I.A., and several others. While the multi-day extravaganza is anchored on Williams’ friends rocking the stage, Something In The Water is also a host of impactful community events such as art shows and pop-ups showcasing local organizations.