George Clinton to headline 2026 ‘Essence’ Festival of Culture

Music News Group3 hours ago

40 1 minute read

George Clinton performs onstage during the 2025 Songwriters Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Marriott Marquis Times Square on June 12, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame)

George Clinton is in his mid-80s, but his goal remains to “Just Sing.” He and Parliament-Funkadelic have been tapped to take the stage July 5 at the Essence Festival of Culture with a headlining set that will close out the annual event.

The performance will mark the first citing of his new Mothership, which pays homage to the spacecraft he first debuted 50 years ago in New Orleans as part of the 1976 P-Funk Earth Tour.

The landing was deemed “the greatest single moment in the history of rock n’ roll,” according to a press release, and the Mothership sits among history at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. The new one will accompany Clinton as he plans to tour the world.

“To celebrate George in New Orleans, where the Mothership first touched down, is a beautiful full-circle moment,” said Vivian Scott Chew, founding partner of Chew Entertainment, who has teamed with Clinton’s management to produce the special moment. “The weekend will be about more than music—it’s about community, legacy, and making space for the next generation to carry the funk forward.”

The Essence festival will take place July 3-5 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Cardi B, Kehlani, Latto, Patti LaBelle, Brandy and Monica are among those on the lineup.