George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic has officially announced his final outing, the “One Nation Under A Groove” tour, which will feature a variety of artist lineups to celebrate George Clinton’s final dates at the helm of the Mothership.
Capping over 50 years of touring and recording, George Clinton & P-Funk will be joined by Galactic, Dumpstaphunk, Fishbone, and Miss Velvet and the Blue Wolf, all of whom are taking time out of their own busy touring schedules to hit the road with the Grammy-winning, formerly-rainbow-dreaded funk, hip-hop, and rock & roll pioneer.
“It’s coming right on time,” Clinton tells Rolling Stone in a new interview, explaining that the announcement is all part of a master plan he conceived a few years ago.
“I would love to keep on doing this but I’ll be 78 in a few more months,” he says. “Even though I feel like I’m just getting started, the reality is the group needs to go ahead and keep it going. We’ve got a new vibe in the band, and they’ve been carrying it for the last three years. I’ve been up there representing for people, but they’ve actually been turning the place out. And we’ve been selling out for the last five years, every night.”
The name of the tour,“One Nation Under A Groove”, is an ode to the 1978 album and single of the same name. “Funk to me was just that groove that united everything,” he said in the interview. “So you could be funky no matter what kind of music you played. There’s a funk element somewhere that can be put into it. And the idea of one nation with everybody together [applies to] not only one nation, but one planet.”
As Clinton prepares to receive his Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, he recognizes the countless musicians that have toured with him over the years. “It’s never been about me or no particular thing,” Clinton said. “The whole truth has always been what it’s about. As I’m getting ready to get a lifetime achievement award and all of that, there’s so many people that’s been in the band, it’s hard to even pick who all the people are.” He continues, “So people won’t get to see a lot of people, but still that award will belong to everybody that’s participated in making the P-Funk what it is. It will be for all the people that’s ever been through the P-Funk army.”
The tour will kick off Memorial Day Weekend, with tickets for most shows going on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time. Pre-sales will start on February 7th. Head to Clinton’s website for more information.
In addition to the headlining tour, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic also announced that they will be joining Red Hot Chili Peppers for a portion of their tour in Australia, hitting Sydney, Hunter Valley, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth. The Chili Peppers first collaborated with George Clinton over three decades ago, when the funk hero produced their early funk album, 1985’s Freaky Styley.
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In efforts to bring more people together for this power of music, Live Nation will be releasing the final 500 tickets for all Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane shows, and Hobart (George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic are not on that bill). There will also be a final release of general admission tickets in Perth and Hunter Valley. All final tickets will be available today at 9 am local time.
For ticketing information and a full list of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ upcoming tour dates, head to the band’s website.