George Clinton, second from the right, and members of Parliament Funkadelic on stage at the Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia on June 6, 2019. PhotoCredit: CHRIS JORDAN
Not so fast - George Clinton and P-Funk ain't done yet.
The Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic One Nation Under a Groove Tour in 2019 was billed as a farewell to touring for Clinton. But now, the group has four shows scheduled, including two as part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival on the Central Park SummerStage on Sunday, June 27, and an indication that more are to follow.
"I'm ready to hit the road again," said Clinton, 79, to NPR's "All Things Considered" on May 19. "We've got some unfinished things to do. We were right in the middle of recording some of the shows live when the pandemic started."
Clinton and P-Funk are also scheduled to play Friday, June 25, at the College Street Music Hall in New Haven, Connecticut, and Sept. 5 at the Temperance Beer Co. in Evanston, Illinois. Fans will either have to show a proof of COVID-19 vaccination, or a negative test within the previous 72 hours, to attend the SummerStage show in New York.
George Clinton performs in Sterling Heights, Michigan., on Thursday, June 20, 2019. He says this is his final tour. PhotoCredit: JUNFU HAN/DETROIT FREE PRESS
More shows in 2022 would be billed as a continuation of the One Nation Under a Groove Tour farewell tour, said P-Funk booking agent Jeff Epstein to Rolling Stone.
"If this summer goes well, it seems large-scale touring is set for a big comeback next year, and as always, George Clinton is a pioneer, leading the way into the future," said Epstein, head of Universal Attractions Agency.
Turkuaz, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe and Robert Randolph and the Family Band would be part of the 2022 tour.
Clinton, who was living in Newark at the time, formed the Parliaments in his Plainfield barbershop on Third and Plainfield Avenue in the 1960s. It grew from there into a spirit lifting merging of funk, R&B, rock, gospel, classical, doo-wop and jazz, all set off by outlandish stage costumes, fantastical narratives and stage props like the Mothership.
The Mothership now resides in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Musical Crossroads gallery.
A request for further information from Clinton's camp was not replied to as of press time.
