Late April. On the oceanfront. In the 757. Pharrell’s 3rd installment of Something In The Water Festival was a reminder of EXACTLY what we need in the Tidewater area. One of the true issues that plagues the careers of creatives and entrepreneurs in the entertainment space is the lack of venues and platforms. Sure…the Instagram campaigns and small pop-ups are great; but we need platforms that reach past local communities. Tourists from out of town, culturally relevant media outlets, international stars, their fans and followings. A large-scale event such as SITW festival has the ability to generate the much needed engagement that creatives thrive off of.

So lets run it. This will be an interesting perspective because it focuses not so much on the main festival itself, but more so the ancillary events, spaces and happenings. Find out where the local artists, brands and creatives were. Lots of notable names and faces. You really have to pay attention to know whats going on. If you are really in the mix you can see the energy radiating from these burgeoning youth. So here we go. For VA. the 757. And def Shouts to Pharrell Williams before we kick this off. Without you none of this was possible.

Reconnect with your squad

Look off the rip…any excuse to link up with the crew is a good one. If you are involved and have a name within events, art or entertainment in the 757, you likely saw almost every notable face you know. Most all the movers, shakers and groovers were present. Overall festival attendance this year seemed light. The first installment of SITW was RIDICULOUSLY packed. I mean every corner was flooded with crowds of people. The weather understandably had an effect on the turnout this year, as rain and storms delayed programming Friday and completely cancelled main performances Sunday. Luckily, we caught a parking spot blocks from the strip and proceeded to link with the rest of the crew. First stop was “The Lot”, which is a clothing / merch boutique store ran by a few local kids. Fishskalerabble was hosting a pop-up with Al-Doms, entitled Fish Out of Water. Fish had his clothing line out, along with Dram and the Bakery Boys merch line. Female DJ L.O.E was spinning, while a live tattoo session was going on with DorisMadMan. Super dope vibe, grabbed a quick interview with Fish. You also have to think, in addition to grabbing content and catching up, events like SITW are a great opportunity to propose and secure future business deals; as everyone who is a stakeholder within the market is likely going to be around.

Get Your Shine On

Besides the fun and games…all the hooplah…there’s serious business to be had. You hear those stories about kids who put their all into their craft; quitting jobs, alienating friends / family….damn near going crazy in the process. The “poor starving artist” trope is played out. But it resonates. And then comes these serendipitous moments; these spots of hope that remind you why we are pushing this art and creativity in the first place. You get to see owners like Ramir with Bleubeing…who started from vending tables at events like our Concrete Canvas festival to having a brick and mortar in Selden Market Downtown Norfolk. Real success stories that make space for others who are trying to get on.

After rocking out at The Lot and catching up with our peers, the crew hopped over to 24th street for the local marketplace activation curated by Where the Heart Is; a collective of entities including Gabe Niles, Utopia Feni, Midnight Media, Social Supply and TeamLAMB. Art exhibition, performances, booth spaces with various local brands and business owners. The 24th street activation was great to see. Especially to see co-workers and peers gain the chance to do business with curators such as Pharrell and Team Yellow. Shouts to everyone who was on the lineup. We ran through, grabbed some content and a quick interview…then proceeded to hope around further.

Create / Capture Memorable Moments

The last element to point out here. Its the moments. The moments are what matter. If attention is the currency in this business, then memorable moments are the paper on which that currency is printed. You have to use the moments to keep your name on the front of conversations. Ensuring that you are consistently a part of what’s going on and being talked about…that’s what counts. On this episode of “where its shaking at” we hopped over to Harvest off Atlantic and 18th. Lets just say….it JUMPED OFF. After an early show consisting of reggae artist cultivated minds, NYC legend DJ Fatman Scoop came and rocked the house. Super great time. Rocked out to some 90’s New York classics for the rest of the night then called it a wrap.

There’s this cultural renaissance happening in Southeastern Virginia. It’s not the normal two-step where the city does some fake fundraiser where you see the mayor shaking hands and holding babies for photoshoots. This isn’t some gimmick that was conceived by a panel of older white men whose main concern is city tax revenues and ordinance enforcement. Nah…this conversation is being had in the streets. Its happening in bars and clubs, studios and performance venues, galleries and creative spaces. And it seems like the artists, entrepreneurs and creatives; who for so long had no voice, are finally getting a chance to speak up and stand out. So this may not have been a full deep dive into SITW and the main performances / what not. But this is how we did it. How a handful of the locals who are actually involved with the scene played it. We might not have bought tickets….but we were in there.