Legendary singer Aretha Franklin has cancelled her upcoming concerts after her doctor recommended that she take a break from touring.
"Aretha Franklin has been ordered by her doctor to stay off the road and rest completely for at least the next two months. She is extremely disappointed she cannot perform at this year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as she had expected and hoped to," Franklin's management sent in a statement.
The Queen of Soul was scheduled to perform on April 28th at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest; organisers announced that Rod Stewart will now fill in for Franklin in that slot, reported Entertainment Weekly.
Franklin announced that her March 25th concert at Newark's New Jersey Performing Arts Center would also be cancelled. That performance was scheduled to take place on her 76th birthday.
In February last year, Franklin had said in an interview that she would soon retire from touring. "I am retiring this year. I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it."
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