Aretha Franklin cancels Sarasota concert

FILE - In this May 11, 2013 file photo, Aretha Franklin performs during McDonald's Gospelfest 2013 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Franklin and former baseball player Bo Jackson will be honored at the 2013 MLB Beacon Awards Luncheon next month. Major League Baseball announced Thursday, July 25, that Franklin and Jackson will receive awards Aug. 24 at the Chicago Marriott Magnificent Mile before the annual Civil Rights Game. The game will be played between the Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers at the U.S. Cellular Field. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File) Charles Sykes Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

SARASOTA -- Aretha Franklin was suppose to make her Sarasota debut at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in just a couple of weeks, on March 29. The show sold out quickly, which means more than 1,700 people had tickets and were looking forward to seeing the Queen of Soul.

So a lot of people are going to be disappointed by this news: On Monday, the people at Van Wezel announced that Franklin had abruptly called off her concert. The reason given was "lack of band personnel."

There's no word on whether she canceled just this date or her entire tour. At about 1:30 p.m. Monday, there was no mention of any cancellation on arethafranklin.net. There's also no indication that the Van Wezel show will be rescheduled.

If you have tickets, contact whomever you bought them from to get a refund. If you bought them from the Van Wezel box office, the number to call is 941-953-3368. You might find updated information at vanwezel.org.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Aretha Franklin cancels Sarasota concert ."

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