The Inaugural P-Funk Fest: We Were There!

Funk music’s rise to power in the 1970’s gave way to spectacular live performances that further defined an artist’s musical identity as well as their own sonic objective. During this time, the groundbreaking live shows by James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, and Parliament-Funkadelic have long been considered the stuff of legend. Indeed, the Mothership Connection/P-Funk Earth Tour was the first live musical spectacle ever presented to predominantly African-American audiences.

Perhaps the best context to witness those shows was the Funk Festivals that gained prominence within the American concert scene in the second half of the 1970s, held in cities such as Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Almost 50 years later, those grand moments of Funk Euphoria seemed lost to the ages. But recently, we’ve seen a slight return to that era of live Funk righteousness. In April of this year, the first official P-Funk Festival was held in Tallahassee, Florida, at the historic Phipps Farm. Organized by George Clinton’s granddaughter, LaShonda Clinton, and P-Funk representative Shoshanna Samole Zisk, the P-Funk Festival assembled various bands that possess a strong connection to P-Funk culture.

 

Every musical act that performed more than understood the assignment. They included Starchild Jr., Trazae, Ligedelic, and 3GP God’s Weapon, and the Baltimore Funk Foundation fronted by the P-Funk Horn section (trombonist Greg Boyer, saxophonist Greg Thomas, and trumpetist Bennie Cowan). Each act presented varied aspects of P-Funk musical culture.

Here’s a partial overview of what went down that day, with various methods on how to manipulate the Down Stroke.

KENDRA FOSTER/MICHAEL PATTERSON

Two-time Grammy winner Kendra Foster (accompanied by guitarist/collaborator Michael Patterson) elevated the crowd with her own brand of “P-Funk-Neo Soul with various gems, including material from her debut album Myriadmorphonicbiocorpomelodicrealityshapeshifter. As an extra surprise, the finale of her set featured an amazing rendition of the classic Brides of Funkenstein single “Amorous”.

Earlier in the day, guitarist Michael Patterson led his band, Pobody’s Nerfect, through a grinding 15-minute set that included James Brown’s “Sex Machine” and Sly and the Family Stone’s Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).

DANNY BEDROSIAN AND THE SECRET ARMY

Continuing his journey into shape-shifting alternative Funk while also paying tribute to the magical P-Funk year of 1975, the Secret Army (with P-Funk bassist Lige Curry holding down the bass factor) succeeded in directing the crowd to stomp their feet and put their hands together for jams such as “Good To Your Earhole.”

420 FUNK MOB

Fresh off their studio release entitled The Emperor Has No Clones, the 420 Funk Mob (with Lige Curry and Danny Bedrosian holding down the groove factor), led by Michael Clip Payne and lead vocalist Joey Eppard, served as a mighty primer for the madness that would close the entire festival. A primer that included tracks from the current album, as well as the track “Nothing Before Me But Thang” from Parliament’s debut album Osmium.

PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC FEATURING GEORGE CLINTON

Due to the number of acts featured at this festival, P-Funk delivered a slightly shorter set that was still filled with Funk energy. What was unique about this set was the fact that drummer Barry Chenault, who delivered the backbeat for P-Funk in 1992-93, reunited with the band, sitting in on the first tunes, which included the 1979 number one R&B hit “(not just) Knee Deep.” FAMU’s Upsilon Psi chapter stomped into the P-Funk realm with Dr. Funkenstein himself for the iconic “Atomic Dog.”

Undeniably, Funkateers experienced a magical event that took them back to the glory years of the 1970s Funk Festivals. But this time, the event was totally devoted to the concept and spirit of P-Funk. Thank you, LaShonda and Shoshanna, for giving Funkateers an experience for the ages.

-Tim Kinley

Photo of George Clinton courtesy of the author