VIRGINIA BEACH — Some resort area owners are concerned that an oceanfront music festival scheduled to feature rap and hip-hop artists later this month will lack broad appeal and bring in tourism dollars.
Audacy's Oceanfront Concert, previously held by the Something in the Water Festival, is scheduled for the last weekend in April. This weekend is traditionally College Beach Weekend, when thousands of students from historically black colleges and universities vacation in Virginia Beach before exam week.
Virginia Beach native and music superstar Pharrell Williams offers events and direction during unauthorized weekends to create Something in the Water as a way to address perceptions of racism and violence in the community. devised. However, that festival is currently scheduled for October.
Business owners who discussed the Audacity concert Thursday at the Resort Advisory Committee, a Congressional-appointed body that considers tourism-related issues, expressed concerns about the event aimed at young people.
Bill Gambrell, owner of Tautog's restaurant, started the conversation by saying he was considering closing the restaurant for the weekend because he doesn't expect many customers.
“I don't know if it's a good weekend to open,” Gambrell said. “They're not usually the kind of people who come to a restaurant and spend money.”
John Zirkle, president of the Virginia Beach Hotel Association, said Something in the Water is a “family-friendly” event, with most hotels booked by guests of all ages.
“We were led to believe that this was going to be more diverse entertainment,” Zirkle said. “Something in the Water had hardcore rappers, but they also had Mumford & Sons[folk-rock band].”
The festival, scheduled to be held on April 26th and 27th at 31st Street Beach, was originally advertised as featuring rock and pop artists, but later expanded to include pop, R&B, rap and contemporary music. Expanded to include. Officials at Audacity previously said the change in genre was made to appeal to college students.
The current lineup is primarily rap and hip-hop, with NLE Choppa, Tee Grizzley, and Shordie Shordie performing on Fridays, and Juicy J, Skilla Baby, and 310babii on Saturdays.
“We were asked by the city to develop music concerts and activities that would appeal to young people between the ages of 15 and 29, and we did just that,” Bennett Zia, president of Audacy Virginia, said Friday. Ta.
So far, Zirkle said the hotel has not seen an increase in bookings for concert weekends. City representatives at the meeting said ticket sales for Audacity are slow, but they expect sales to pick up as the weekend approaches. Ticket prices range from $29 to $79. According to the city, the number of visitors is estimated at 15,000 per day.
It's not just the business side of the weekend that has commissioners nervous. Some worry that the profanity in the rap lyrics will offend tourists staying at the hotel.
Committee Chairman BJ Bauman pulled up one of the artist's lyrics on his cell phone and showed it to his fellow committee members who were attending the meeting.
“From what I've heard, it contains quite a bit of profanity and is not appropriate for anyone to hear,” Bauman said. “What bothers me most about this is the fact that it will be in a public venue and all the other guests who probably didn't know about this will be affected by it.”
Most agreed that there was a need for some sort of organized activity on the weekend, but wanted it to reach a wider audience, especially as College Beach Weekend has dwindled in recent years. The first Something in the Water Festival, held in 2019, was put on the back burner and canceled amid the pandemic.
Audacy, which owns more than 200 radio stations across the country, expanded into entertainment offerings this year. The City Council agreed to provide the company with $750,000 and in-kind city services in exchange for national radio advertising promoting Virginia Beach tourism. In addition to ticketed concerts, free music and art events are also planned at the park at 17th Street and His 24th Street from noon to 5 p.m. daily.
For years, tens of thousands of students have flocked to Virginia Beach at the end of April, sometimes causing violence to erupt in the resort area. During the 2018 College Beach weekend, oceanfront Some businesses have closed due to public safety concerns.
Julian Rivera, a new member of the resort's advisory board who also works as a DJ at Audacity, said Something in the Water “broke down those barriers,” adding that some people like I fear that by focusing on this, we are returning to the same old fears. What can go wrong?
“The last few years have been pretty good,” Rivera said. “Let's see what happens.”
Councilman Chris Taylor, who serves as the resort's liaison to the resort advisory committee, was out of town Thursday and did not attend the meeting, but has been consulting with members since then. He voted against Audacy's sponsorship, but feels there is not enough cooperation between the city council and promoters.
“We were looking for something to fill a void that reflected our culture and community,” he said Friday. “This is just a rap concert.”
He has no plans to go to the concert.
“I hope it's a great event,” Taylor said. “That's not a place I would take my kids.”
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com