2 Up, 2 Down - Something In the Water 2019
Pharrell Williams
Initially, when I caught wind of Pharrell’s new festival to be held in Virginia Beach, it was, an intriguing concept. I’ve spent 6 years of my life residing in VA Beach and Norfolk, and an actual beach festival with top tier artists was unprecedented. One word I associate Pharrell with is quality, and he didn’t let us down.
To keep it short and a buck… the Pharrell & Friends set on Saturday night was the best set of live music I’ve heard thus far. Being in the game for well over 20 years, Pharrell has amassed a deep discography that includes collaborations from hip-hop and R&B’s pool of living legends. We received almost two hours of Pharrell music and was joined by Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Diddy, Usher, Missy Elliott, Charlie Wilson, Timbaland, Tyler the Creator, and more. It was special because a bulk of the songs performed were songs I first heard while growing up in VA Beach and that’s where the magic was happening. Even though we didn’t get the rumored Clipse reunion, we still witnessed rare performances from homegrown talent such as Missy Elliott and Timbaland who have mean so much to not only Virginia but hip-hop itself.
The whole lineup was insane though. Diverse as well. Mac Demarco and Pusha T on the opposite sides of the music spectrum, but they can co-exist at a festival organized by Pharrell. Friday could’ve been a big day for performances, but unfortunately, there was a looming storm that had other plans for us out at the beach. I’ll take the refund, but it’s a shame Something in the Water didn’t have a full three days for its first year in action. I hope it’s back next year because it was an excellent event for the city that also positively impacted the community.
Travis Scott
And… when it comes back I’m due for a media pass! I’ve never been able to get a media pass for a major festival. With determination and a side of luck I’ve been able to shoot from the crowd at Coachella, The Meadows NYC, Pitchfork Music Festival, and now Something in the Water. When I do this though I’m usually in the same spot the whole day because once I get the spot, I need to shoot from I can’t risk losing it by walking away. For Beychella, the only way in which I could capture a decent photo of Beyonce was to camp for 10 hours, which I did. Ironically, I managed to get two shots I was proud of and about 20 minutes into her set her security almost nabbed my camera, so I had to run back into the crowd.
I got this question several times during Something in The Water while toting around my 70-200mm sniper rifle - how’d you get that in? Like I said previously: determination and luck. I’ve never faced resistance to get my camera into previous festivals, but Something in the Water was different. It took me five attempts to actually get it in. I won’t go over what I did in full detail but here are a few tips:
Use the fastest entry line.
Separate your lens and camera body within your bag (or a friend’s bag).
Invest in a weekend locker.
I do hope the days of me having to go through this are numbered though. It’s a risk doing this every time because there’s no guarantee I will get it in. I’ve just been lucky, and I know other people haven’t.
It’s time for me to have my turn to eat though! I hope you enjoy my photos. Thanks for the read!
