George Clinton Announces His Retirement From Touring With Parliament-Funkadelic

Photos taken by Vickey Ford of Sneakshot for Okayplayer.

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 Lotus that 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