President Obama Wore Aretha Out!

Here's one that made me laugh out loud. Aretha Franklin has pulled out of her performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in APRIL because she claims she was too worn out from her inauguration performance in JANUARY. According to Jazz Fest producer Quint Davis, Franklin cited all the activities involved in inaugurating President Barack Obama, scheduling, and travel issues in her decision to cancel. Davis said that the Queen of Soul has, "decided not to do any more work for a while and we honor that."

Davis definitely wants Aretha to be a part of next year's celebration. He said that, "she's made it clear that New Orleans and the festival are important and that she would like to be a part of this and raising the spirit of New Orleans."

Meanwhile, Franklin will be replaced by Neil Young. The Jazz Fest spans seven days over two weekends — April 24th to 26th and April 30th to May 3rd. Previously announced performers include The Dave Matthews Band, James Taylor, Earth, Wind and Fire, Etta James, The O'Jays, Wynton Marsalis, Erykah Badu, Allen Toussaint, and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. Hometown favorites The Neville Brothers will be the festival's closing act on May 3rd.