VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach City Council on Tuesday passed an ordinance that's a step towards bringing a new, two-day music festival to the Oceanfront this fall.
Council members voted to approve a ordinance to create a sponsorship agreement with Audacy Virginia
Audacy Virginia, a well-known entertainment company that partnered with the 60th Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships to bring artists in like Third Eye Blind and The Offspring, has proposed the opportunity to bring a two-day music festival to the city on Oct. 20 and Oct. 21 of this year.
"We’re working hard to bring the right acts to Virginia Beach," Audacy Virginia President Bennett Zier told News 3 in an exclusive interview Tuesday night.
Zier confirmed the festival, as of now, is named the "VAgabond Beach Festival," but he said the name could slightly change.
"Our original vision was to make it a Mid-Atlantic destination," Zier said. "October, it is the month that has the least rain. And, there’s not as much going on. So, we’d thought we’d give something for people to look forward to."
News 3 asked about any artists confirmed to play at this festival, but Zier couldn't speak to any groups performing.
However, he said Audacy Virginia is in negotiations and talking with artists.
Zier said the goal is to hopefully attract about 10,000-12,000 people a night at the festival.
"It will be family, it will be adult, [and] it will be somewhat in the rock/pop genre," Zier said.
Previously, City Manager Patrick Duhaney told News 3 the festival would provide genres of pop and rock to draw people from across the Mid-Atlantic, but potential artists that could perform have not been released. The announcement of artists would coincide with the announcement of the festival
Audacy Virginia will provide a $1.5 million dollar marketing and promotional campaign to support the festival, according to Duhaney.
Some Virginia Beach residents, like Natalie Bettencourt and John Limbach, are excited about the thought of another music festival coming to the Oceanfront this year, especially after 'Something in the Water' and 'Beach It! Country Music Festival.'
"I like the idea that the city is pumping money into the city, [and] bringing in tourists," Bettencourt said. "We’re a tourist town."
"It gives people things to do. It gives local people things to do," Limbach added. "It gives a lot of things to do for the tourists that come into town."
The ordinance passed in a 7-4 vote Tuesday night, with an amendment to change the location which was originally supposed to be around 31st Street.
The amended location would be north of 15th Street.
Other residents, including those affiliated with the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), and council members had mixed feelings about the music festival being held on the same days as this year's Boardwalk Art Show.
"The artists benefit from a wide variety of hotel room rates," Virginia MOCA Vice Chair Bruce Berlin said. "Increased prices may impede artists from participating in the show."
"The weekend of the largest running annual oceanfront event that’s already bringing 200,000 to 250,000 visitors here, $15 million in economic impact, rates for hotels are already 30 to 40 percent higher, I’m not sure the public wants that type of enhancement," Virginia Beach city council member Chris Taylor said.
Zier said he had no discussions with Virginia MOCA about the dates for the music festival, but he is sensitive to residents' concerns.
"We’ll work, and make sure that everything is smooth," he said. "I do believe that, if people are coming here for art, and they’re going to get it not only on canvas and sculpture, but also on singing and instruments, I mean that’s a great weekend isn’t it?"
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer is all in on the new festival, and hopes the event becomes another legacy event.
"We want the beach to be a year-round destination," Dyer said. "We’ve proven that we can handle multiple events. We can handle big events. We can handle them well, and get along."
As for when a formal announcement of a lineup could come down for VAgabond Beach Festival, Zier told News 3 it could be any day now.
