George Clinton Announces His Retirement From Touring With Parliament-Funkadelic
After leading Parliament-Funkadelic since its inception in the late '60s, George Clinton is finally calling it quits.
The funk godfather will be retiring from the group in 2019, according to an official statement via Rolling Stone.
"It’s never really been about me. It's always been about the music and the band," Clinton said. "This has been coming a long time. Anyone who has been to the shows over the past couple of years has noticed that I've been out front less and less."
Parliament-Funkadelic will continue to tour following the 76-year-old's leave. But fans hoping to catch the group while Clinton is still in it can do so this year. He has a full touring schedule this year that runs from early May to late August. There are also plans for a final "One Nation Under a Groove" tour, which was described in the statement as a "once-in-a-lifetime sendoff."
Even though Clinton will be retiring from the group it doesn't seem as if he'll be retiring from music. The artist still has a solo project with Flying Lotusthat has yet to be released.
Check out Parliament-Funkadelic tour dates below.
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic
May 3 – Bonita Springs, FL – Southwest Florida Events Center
May 4 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues Orlando
May 5 – Clearwater, FL – Coachman Park
May 6 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues New Orleans
May 10 – Savannah, GA – The Stage on Bay
May 11 – Asheville, NC – Salvage Station
May 12 – Portsmouth, VA – Portsmouth Pavilion
May 25 – San Diego, CA – The Music Box
May 26 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theater
May 27 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
May 28 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
May 29 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
June 2 – Nelsonville, OH – Hocking College Campus
June 16 – Hunter Mountain, NY – Hunter Mountain
June 20 – Glasgow, UK – Kelvingrove Bandstand
June 22 – Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller
June 23 – Odense C, DK – Musikhuset Posten
June 24 – Reykjavik, Iceland – Laugardalur
June 26 – Hilversum, NL – Podium De Vorstin
June 27 – Arnhem, NL – Luxor Live
June 28 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
June 29 – Lublin, PL – East of Culture Different Sounds Festival
June 30 – Brussels, BE – Coleur Cafe Festival
July 1 – East Sussex, UK – Love Supreme Jazz Festival
July 3 – Paris, FR – Casino De Paris
July 6 – Nottingham, UK – Rock City
July 7 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Academy
July 8 – London, UK – Roundhouse
July 11 – Interlochen, MI – Kresge Auditorium
July 12 – Fort Wayne, IN – The Clyde Theatre
July 13 – Kalamazoo, MI – Bell`s Eccentric Cafe – Beer Garden
July 15 – Chicago, IL – Grant Park
July 17 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
July 19 – Dayton, OH – Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway
July 20 – Columbus, OH – Hollywood Casino Columbus Showroom
July 21 – Warren, OH – Packard Music Hall
July 28 – Dillon, CO – Dillon Amphitheater
Aug. 1 – Ardmore, PA – The Ardmore Music Hall
Aug. 2 – Washington, DC – 930 Club
Aug. 3 – New York, NY – The Liberty Belle
Aug. 4 – Beverly, MA – The Cabot Theater
Aug. 5 – Newport, RI – Fort Adams State Park
Aug. 9 – Knoxville, TN – The Mill & Mine
Aug. 10 – Jacksonville, NC – The Tarheel
Aug. 11 – Richmond, VA – Maymont Park
Aug. 23 – Lexington, KY – Lyric Theatre
Aug. 24 – Arrington, VA – Lockn’ Music Festival
Aug. 25 – Cherry Creek, NY – Cockaigne Ski Resort
Aug. 26 – Rochester, NY – Frontier Field
Source: Rolling Stone