Rocio Mateos
Aretha Franklin delivered another amazing performance at the inaugural Detroit Music Weekend Festival on Saturday, June 10. Outside of the Detroit Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts. The bad news is that the show might end up being her final concert in her hometown, as the singer approaches retirement.
The Queen of Soul headlined the Detroit Music Weekend, rocking the stage with her iconic voice, right with the sun setting behind her. It was the first time in years since Franklin played a free outdoor concert like that in Detroit.
Franklin performed for almost two hours in front of about 14,000 festival-goers. She did an overview of her longtime recording career. Beginning at her ‘60s jazz work with her song “Skylark,” she then went through her classic soul period with “Chain of Fools,” followed by an astonishing gospel performance of her song “Precious Memories,” and her pop era with songs like “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me).”
Although she didn’t perform her historic hit “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” she did offer songs for the most dedicated fans, such as “Hooked on Your Love,” and “Sweet Sixteen,” up until a rendition of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”
During the show, she invited to the stage a catalog of famous friends, such as Michigan U.S. Se. Debbie Stabenow, boxing champion Thomas Hearns, Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson, musicians Mary Wilson, Freda Payne, and more. She even did a few features onstage with Kasan Belgrave and the Williams Brothers. During a mid-show break, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan gave Franklin a key to the city. Also, her opera coach Mary Lynch presented her a Metropolitan Detroit Virtuoso Award.
The show perfectly justified Franklin’s 18 Grammy Awards won throughout her career, alongside being one of the best-selling artists of all time. The ambient was as fun as it was nostalgic. The reason? This was possibly her final hometown show.
Franklin didn’t mention the public this could be her last Detroit show
Days before the show, the 75-year-old singer was asked in an interview it that could be her final Detroit performance. After 10 seconds of silence, she answered, “That’s possible.” Another pause followed to recover her broken voice. “Yeah, it’s possible,” she confirmed.
“It’s not something that I look forward to. But you can’t just go on forever,” she explained. For the last 54 years, the singer has been recording, touring and performing nonstop. Although she insists that it’s something she loves, she recognizes that maybe it’s time to calling it a day, because behind what seems a glamorous life, it’s tiring and requires a lot of planning she believes she won’t be able to do much longer.
She never mentioned the crowd that she was thinking about retiring from the stage, but she said that she was “just getting over a bit of a spell, but I’m getting over it.” She left the stage asking fans to “keep me in your prayers.”
Detroit dedicated the entire weekend to the Queen of Soul
To celebrate the prolific and transcendental career of Aretha Franklin, Detroit did a celebratory Queen of Soul weekend. Born in Mississippi, the singer refers to Detroit as her hometown since she lived there during her formative musical years.
Ceremonies began on Thursday, with the naming of a portion of Madison Avenue named in her honor. The Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones passed a resolution to give Madison Avenue the secondary name of Aretha Franklin Way back in May. “She’s been recognized by (President Barack Obama) and given the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I think it is only due for her to receive this honor,” she said at the time.
Franklin attended the ceremony and promised to be a frequent visitor to the block now named after her.
On Friday night, a tribute concert took place at Detroit’s Music Hall Center. A superband of Detroit musicians performed versions of 20 of the most iconic Franklin songs. Although Franklin was set to perform the final song, she couldn’t attend due to health reasons.
Franklin may be thinking about retiring from the stages, but she’s currently working on a new album with Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, and Elton John.
