Beach Mayor’s Tough Talk On SITW
For years Virginia Beach had struggled with April’s annual “Beach College Weekend” which drew thousands of kids from historically black colleges and universities to the Beach. Unfortunately, the event also drew local dirtbags and gangs. As a result, the weekend became a crime convention and instead of making money, businesses locked up.
Along came Pharrell Williams.
Determined to rescue his hometown, Pharrell worked with city officials to turn the problem weekend into a festival. In 2019 SITW was a roaring success. In fact, there were fewer weekend crimes than usual, despite tens of thousands of festival goers.
I was there on Saturday night and even though my musical tastes are more Luke Bryan than Pusha T, I loved it. Portsmouth’s Missy Elliott put on a show and Pharrell and Timbaland were terrific. On Sunday morning I rode my bike back to the festival for Pharrell’s beach worship service and inspired gospel music.
It’s been an catastrophe ever since. First the covid lockdowns stupidly put an end to outdoor concerts (thank you Ralph Northam, worst governor ever) and then the shooting death of Donovon Lynch - Pharrell’s cousin - by a police officer, led to a bitter battle between the superstar and the city.
The next SITW festival was staged with less success in Washington DC. The rift between Pharrell and the city was eventually mended and the festivals were back on track, but they were riddled with problems.
This year’s SITW was scheduled for October 12-13. Tickets went on sale Friday, September 13 with no line-up announced. Midway through the sales Pharrell announced that SITW was “not ready” and cancelled the festival.
This was amatuer hour. The city should have bid Pharrell goodbye immediately.
Instead, a new date was announced, for April 2025, but Pharrell’s representatives just missed a November 1 deadline to sign contracts.
Mayor Bobby Dyer finally exploded at Tuesday’s city council meeting and threatened to scrap the show if the paperwork wasn’t signed by the end of business Friday. That’s tomorrow.
“If they do not have this signed, sealed and delivered by close of business on Friday, on Tuesday I will be making a recommendation that we pull the plug and go in a different direction,” Dyer said.
Pharrell’s playing games. The city should not play.
Dyer will join the “Kerry and Mike Show” this morning in the 8 o’clock hour to explain.
We’ve been speculating that some of the present problems may be out of Pharrell’s control: For instance, how many of the artists are laying low while the Diddy case makes its way through the legal system?
By April some of the acts may be so totally disgraced - or worse - they’ll be unavailable to perform.
“It might be just Pharrell and Pat Boone on stage,” joked Mike Imprevento Wednesday morning.
Hey, I’d buy a ticket to that.
