Fifty years after the Mothership first touched down in New Orleans, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic are bringing it back. Clinton will headline the Essence Festival of Culture on July 5, closing out the festival with the debut of a brand new, technologically advanced Mothership, currently under construction at the Rock Lititz production campus in Nashville. The original spacecraft, designed by lighting visionary Jules Fisher for the 1976 P-Funk Earth Tour, now lives in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. What lands in New Orleans this July will be its worthy successor.
At 84, Clinton remains a commanding, charismatic stage presence, and the scale of this production matches the weight of the moment. Chew Entertainment, led by longtime collaborator Vivian Scott Chew, is producing the performance. Chew was instrumental in the iconic 1996 Mothership landing in Central Park and has been the driving force behind uniting this historic occasion with Essence. David Rodriguez, Executive Producer at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, joins as a key collaborator on the production. “To celebrate George in New Orleans, where the Mothership first touched down, is a beautiful full-circle moment,” Chew said. “It’s about community, legacy and making space for the next generation to carry the funk forward.”
The cultural stakes here are enormous. Clinton’s influence runs from the West Coast G-funk of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Ice Cube through Outkast, Kendrick Lamar, and Janelle Monáe. A Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Rock and 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 Essence Festival of Culture performance will mark the new Mothership’s world debut, with a global tour to follow.
July 5 in New Orleans. The Mothership lands again. Get there.