Since the 1960s and the decades after, artist and band leader George Clinton has piloted his mother ship of acts from The Parliaments to Funkadelic to Parliament Funkadelic to the most recent P-Funk All Stars, who will roll in to Grand Rapids’ 20 Monroe Live.
As a fan, I can say, at 76 years old, George Clinton doesn’t act his age on stage. He's a serious performer whose concerts’ length and energy would put other younger acts to shame for his mammoth sets filled with classic tunes from a canon of music that only a master could assemble over fifty years.
In fact, when
Clinton and The P-Funk Allstars perform, the audience is never certain what to expect, since Clinton approaches his concerts with an artful chillness that rewards concert-goers beautifully. (Many times his shows can stretch to three hours if the spirit moves the man.)
Not only has this act created some of the best funk and rap of the last 50 years with hits like “Flashlight,” “Atomic Dog,” “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker),” but also indie classics like “One Nation Under a Groove,” and “(Not Just) Knee Deep.”
Either way, this is an American classic with Michigan roots and a member of the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame.
In fact, the timing of his arrival in Grand Rapids could not be any better since the band was just a guest on the office concert series
NPR’s Tiny Desk.
So you can stay home and chill with your Netflix or you can secure tickets and haul ass downtown to
20 Monroe Live to party with a real American icon.