Aretha Franklin cancels concerts due to doctor's orders

Aretha Franklin cancels concerts due to doctor's orders By MESFIN FEKADU, AP Music Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Aretha Franklin is canceling two upcoming concerts on doctor's orders.

The Queen of Soul's management team says in a statement Friday that Franklin will not perform March 25 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey. That show would have taken place on her 76th birthday.

Franklin also won't appear April 28 at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Organizers say Rod Stewart will perform as the headliner instead.

The statement says the singer has been ordered by her doctor to stay off the road and rest completely for at least the next two months. It adds that Franklin is "extremely disappointed she cannot perform as she had expected and hoped to."

Last year, Franklin announced her plans to retire, saying she would perform at "some select things."