George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic to Close ESSENCE Festival With Return of Mothership Show

Fifty years after one of the most iconic moments in music history, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic are returning to New Orleans. The legendary collective will take the stage July 5 at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture, headlining a set that will close out the annual event and debut a brand new Mothership stage show.

The performance marks the first appearance of Clinton's new Mothership, which pays homage to the spacecraft he first debuted 50 years ago in New Orleans during 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.

"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 Parliament-Funkadelic collective embarked on its original P-Funk Earth Tour following the release of the Mothership Connection album in 1975, spawning classics including "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" and "Star Child (Mothership Connection)" and introducing a new wave of music lovers to Afrofuturistic ideals akin to fellow pioneer Sun Ra. With the help of lighting designer Jules Fisher, late Broadway production designer Peter Larkin, and a $500,000 budget, the original production fused funk music with science fiction spectacle in a way the concert world had never seen.

The late promoter Larry McKinley was integral in helping bring the original New Orleans show to life. His daughter, Glenda McKinley, is an advertising executive behind GMc+Co. Advertising and McKinley Studios in New Orleans remember how significant her father believed the moment would be. To those who witnessed it, the Mothership's first descent wasn't just a concert — it was an experience.

Clinton's influence has informed artists who expanded the sound of funk across generations, from the late Prince to Dr. Dre, Outkast to Childish Gambino, Janelle Monáe to Kendrick Lamar. A GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Songwriters Hall of Fame member, and Hollywood Walk of Fame honoree, Clinton has shaped the DNA of Black music across generations.

The 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture returns to New Orleans for Fourth of July weekend, July 3 – 5, with the lineup also including Brandy & Monica, Patti LaBelle, Latto, Cardi B, and Kehlani. Tickets and three-day passes are available at essence.com. The E360 app is recommended for planning and updates.