Aretha Franklin has been forced to cancel two upcoming concerts on doctor's orders.
Aretha Franklin
The iconic Queen of Soul's management team confirmed in a statement on Friday (16.03.18) that the 75-year-old legendary singer would not be able to take to the stage at her planned show at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey on March 25, or at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on March 28.
The statement read: "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."
Aretha's show in New Jersey would have taken place on her 76th birthday.
According to Billboard, festival organisers for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival have confirmed that Rod Stewart will now take the place of the 'Respect' hitmaker at the bash.
It isn't the first time the star has had to cancel a concert recently, as in August last year she was forced to pull out her headline slot at the second annual Martha's Vineyard Concert Series at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs due to an undisclosed medical condition.
A statement at the time read: "The staff of MV Concert Series wishes Ms. Franklin a full recovery and holds out hope that we may someday host the Queen of Soul in concert."
The 'Think' singer announced last year that she would be retiring once her final album, a collaboration with Stevie Wonder, was released in September.
She said: "I must tell you, I am retiring this year. I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now."
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