George Clinton Plans 2026 World Tour With Rebuilt Parliament-Funkadelic Mothership

A new, upgraded Parliament-Funkadelic Mothership is in development, setting the stage for a reimagined live spectacle tied to a planned 2026 world tour. Observers may expect an early look as soon as next summer, with a broader rollout following as the project accelerates toward full-scale touring. The return builds on a 50-year Afrofuturist legacy sparked by the Mothership Connection album and the band's boundary-pushing live productions.

“We know it's going to be crazy,” Scott Chew says. “It's something people are going to be in awe of. 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.”

Tour dates, she adds, will be announced “shortly,” though Scott Chew did predict that “I think your first sighting will be next summer.”

Vivian Chew of Chew Entertainment coordinates the project. A related milestone arrives Jan. 31 with a Symphonic PFunk event at the Detroit Opera House, featuring arrangements by Ray Chew and guest performers, with George Clinton potentially participating.

“It was spectacular. There was nothing like it at the time,” recalls David Libert, who booked Clinton during the ‘70s after serving as tour manager for Alice Cooper. “The logistics around it were crazy, but any audience that saw it was just blown away.”

The original Mothership debuted in 1976 during the Earth Tour, designed by Jules Fisher, with its iconic entrance for Dr. Funkenstein. Its cultural impact became foundational to funk and rock history, culminating in later landmark appearances, including the 1996 Central Park reunion and Woodstock '99, before the vessel found a permanent home at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“I'm loving the fact that it's still that valid of a concept, and I'm still around to actually be part of this next journey,” Clinton says now. “It's a good thing; the first Mothership is in the Smithsonian, and here we are backing it up with a new version.”

The 2026 tour will feature a newly constructed, amplified, travel-ready Mothership built at Rock Lititz in Pennsylvania, complementing the Smithsonian original as part of an expanded narrative arc.

“I've definitely got some fresh funk coming in and out of that, very soon,” he says, “very interesting stuff. I can't talk about it now. It's going to be interesting.”

Alongside the Mothership's return, Clinton continues developing new material, signaling fresh music to accompany the tour while official itineraries and details follow.