Pharrell's "Something in the Water" Leaves Fans Upset With Safety Conditions

Many attendees at Pharrell's "Something in the Water" were left unhappy with the safety conditions at the event.

BYCole Blake
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Pharrell Williams’ "Something in the Water” festival was held over the weekend in Washington D.C., and many fans voiced their frustrations over the conditions they were subjected to at the event. Fans on social media complained about overcrowded sets, having personal items stolen, technical difficulties, and more. 

One concertgoer, Katerra Shackelford, told WTOP News that they bailed on the third day of the festival, despite having tickets, because of the state of the event.

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“Both days were terrible,” they said. “There’s nowhere to sit down. There’s no shade. There is no water. Even if you’re trying to get to the bathroom you can’t get to it. It was a shitshow.”

Shackelford added that she's attended many festivals in the past, but this was unlike anything she had seen.

“The difference between this festival and other festivals is that it’s unsafe,” she explained. “It’s so overcrowded, you can’t get through the crowds. People are pushing through the crowds because they’re mad that they can’t get through. It’s just very narrow passageways.”

Shackelford continued: “You expect the event staff to be safe. You expect that if somebody calls out for help, the medics are going to come. As somebody who goes to festivals … you expect there to be safety protocols in place. And it was clear and obvious that there were none. The staff was untrained.”

Others, including Ngeri Nnachi from Bowie, Maryland, claimed that big crowds of fans who had stepped outside for a break were not being allowed back inside.

“I cannot believe I paid this much money to end up not seeing those I wanted to see," they told WTOP.

Something in the Water boasted performances from Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Baby, Tyler, The Creator, 21 Savage, and many more.

Check out more responses to the festival below.





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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.