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Billboard chart-toppers won’t be the only musicians with star power at Something in the Water.
The three-day music festival has partnered with Hampton Roads-based musicians to create lineups for three community stages. The stages will be just outside the ticketed festival’s grounds at the Oceanfront and host about seven hours of music each day.
“Just come and vibe. It’s us. It’s the community,” said Gabe Niles, a local artist integral to the curation of the stages’ entertainment.
Niles, who was the music director for Pharrell Williams’ Mighty Dream Forum in November, said it took a “big chunk” of the Something in the Water budget to organize the free shows.
“Every person who touches the stage is getting paid, baby!” Niles said. “This is like the next level up. We’re not local at this point. We’re here.”
[ Guide for Something in the Water: Here’s what you need to know ]
Dozens of musicians will take advantage of the exposure offered by Williams’ hometown festival and are already getting hired for private and public parties and events hosted by restaurants, clubs, bars and individuals throughout the weekend.
“There are a lot of guys who are stacking their weekend to the point where I don’t even know if they are going to the festival itself,” said Kyle Siebels, who performs as DJ CanRock.
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A yearslong staple of the Norfolk music scene, Siebels has been booking gigs associated with Something in the Water since the festival announced its return to Virginia Beach last fall.
Siebels will perform at two of the community stages on Friday. That night, he’ll deejay at a restaurant and bar. The next morning, he’s scheduled to spin records at a celebrity bowling event and then at a Saturday night party. Then, on Sunday, he’s got a brunch gig and another nighttime party.
Siebels said that the feeling of being embraced and wanted by a forum with international prestige, such as Something in the Water, has been absolutely “mind-blowing.”
“They’re trying to shine a light, on us, for the world to see — to see us,” Siebels said. “Like we’re something. Like, we are that something in the water.”
Local musicians will have an additional opportunity this weekend with “Something Indie Water.” Unlike the community stages, Something Indie Water is not funded by the festival but will be held at the FFX Theatre at 206 16th St. just outside of the larger festival’s main entrance. It will feature 50 Virginia musicians, bands, DJs and producers playing from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
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31st Street stage
The 31st Street community stage will be next to the Hilton Hotel near the intersection of Laskin Road and Atlantic Avenue.
Its theme will be that of an R&B block party from 2 to 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Attendees should expect to see some “big-time special guests” pulled onto the stage throughout the weekend.
“It’ll be more old-school R&B music,” Niles said. “It’s just a vibe down there.”
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24th Street stage
The community stage at 24th Street and Atlantic Avenue will have the name “Love At First Site” and feature more than 40 “next generational” acts with caboodles of booty-shaking dance music, Niles said.
On Friday, the music will begin around noon.
Saturday’s festivities kick off around 10 a.m. with a business competition, “Pull Up and Pitch,” presented by Williams’ Black Ambition, in the vein of the show “Shark Tank.” Anyone with a business idea can pitch it to a panel of three judges.
If two judges like an idea, the pitcher will receive $500. If all three judges like it, the proposal advances to the next round. One finalist will receive $1 million to help fund the idea at end of the weekend, according to Niles. No pitches will be taken after 2 p.m.
Weekend Scoop
Children musicians and poets will take the stage in the afternoon, followed by an evening of music.
Sunday, the Virginia African American Cultural Center will host a panel from 11 a.m. to noon, and after a musical interlude, the organization Turning the Tide will host a discussion from 2 to 2:30 p.m. Both panels will discuss community betterment.
Music concludes at 7 p.m. each day.
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17th Street stage
All styles of music are expected to be blasting from the 17th Street stage, at the intersection of 17th Street and Atlantic Avenue, from noon to 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Niles declined to give specific details but hinted at a possible UFO or space-esque theme.
“Some type of spaceship crashed over there,” he said. “It’s mysterious over there.”
Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8139, colin.warrenhicks@virginiamedia.com