Parliament-Funkadelic brought out every weapon in their arsenal for their headlining spot at Augusta’s Major Rager Music Festival—a music festival on April 6th that coincides with the kickoff of the annual Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National Golf Course—under the direction of the funk commander general George Clinton. With a funk-heavy line up for this year’s edition, the Rager wisely chose the iconic P-Funk to cap their party, and the band did not disappoint. Luckily for the festival, the whole affair is held outdoors so there was no roof for the band to tear off, but that didn’t stop them from getting down and dirty after well-received sets from Dumpstaphunk and the James Brown Band earlier in the day.
In his half-century of leading bands, Clinton has seen his projects progress from doo-wop singing groups to space-age funkateers to a wild mix of elder statesmen and fresh-faced players. The simple visual dichotomy of a silver-haired guitarist nailing classic riffs from Atomic Dog and other classics juxtaposed against the frenetic spinning multi-colored dreadlocks of his decades-younger backing guitarist told the tale visually as well as musically. Clinton’s strongest suit has always been his eye for talent and P-Funk’s current line-up is more than capable of honoring the past while taking their brand of jams boldly into the future!
The crowd lined up hours before the doors open, clearly ecstatic to hear some funk classics played by the quintessential group that had crafted them. Though there was no shortage of young faces the crowd, like P-Funk, the Major Rager audience was a welcome mix of ages with fans who’ve been grooving to P-Funk since their heyday well represented. You can check out some of the magic in our three-part playlist below, starting with a 23-minute medley that features snippets of many of their classics and their trademark outrageous stage presence. Enjoy!