The Queen (of Soul) has been sidelined again.

Aretha Franklin has canceled a pair of concerts -- March 25 in Newark, N.J., and April 28 at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival -- on doctor’s orders. Rod Stewart will be taking Franklin’s slot at the latter.

In a statement, Franklin’s management said the Bloomfield Hills-based singer “has been ordered by her doctor to stay off the road and rest completely for at least the next two months” and added that Franklin is “extremely disappointed she cannot perform as she had expected and hoped to.”



Franklin, 75, has canceled several concerts in recent years due to unspecified health reasons. She was planning to retire from the road completely after this year.

Franklin’s last performance in her home town was last June 10 at the inaugural Detroit Music Weekend in downtown Detroit