February 12, 2009 17:16

Aretha Franklin steps away from music

Obama inaguration singer will not do any more work 'for a while'

Aretha Franklin, who sang at Barack Obama's presidential inauguration last month, has pulled out of the New Orleans Nojazzfest.com.

Event organiser Quint Davis told BBC News that Franklin had pulled out due to scheduling and travel issues, and had decided to step away from work "for a while".

The event is set to take place in the US city on April 24-26, then on April 30-May 3.

Quint put a positive spin on the cancellation, saying that she would be welcome back next year. "She's made it clear that New Orleans and the festival are important," he said, adding that "she would like to be a part of this and raising the spirit of New Orleans".