Funk pioneer George Clinton has announced plans to launch a global tour in 2026, featuring a newly constructed version of Parliament-Funkadelic’s legendary Mothership stage prop, per billboard.com.
The original Mothership, a centrepiece of the iconic P-Funk Earth Tour in 1976, now resides in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. The new spacecraft is being built at the Rock Lititz production campus in Pennsylvania.
“It’s something people are going to be in awe of,” said longtime Clinton collaborator Vivian Chew of Chew Entertainment. “Dr. Funkenstein will be coming out of the Mothership again in a very new way. George is going to take this thing around the world.”
While full tour dates are to be announced “shortly,” Chew indicated the first sighting of the new Mothership would likely be next summer.
The Mothership was first introduced on Parliament’s seminal 1975 album Mothership Connection, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The album’s hit “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)” helped propel it to platinum status.
Clinton, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year, hinted that the Mothership’s return may be accompanied by new music. “I’ve definitely got some fresh funk coming,” he said.
Before the 2026 tour, a special “Symphonic PFunk” concert will be held on 31 January at the Detroit Opera House, featuring orchestral arrangements of P-Funk classics.
•Featured image: George Edward Clinton, poses during an exhibition of his paintings at the Galerie Mariane Ibrahim in Paris on October 23, 2025/Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images
