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.
JAZZ FEST TALENT UPDATE
— New Orleans JazzFest (@jazzfest) March 16, 2018
Rod Stewart will headline Jazz Fest on Saturday, April 28, stepping in for Aretha Franklin who on the advice of her doctors is unable to perform. pic.twitter.com/4muETq6GZh
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."
