Tickets are now available for Aretha Franklin’s return to the Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday, October 19 at 7:30 pm. Franklin’s recent illness led many to wonder if she would ever grace this stage again; her booking is great news. As we wrote on Sun209 in November 2010, “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a crowd at the Ryman as excited as they were tonight. Sure, there are great shows there all the time, but the place was packed with people who had been waiting for four decades to see her. When she walked onstage, people were screaming and shouting and kept that up until their (and Aretha’s) energy flagged. Like B.B. King, Johnny Cash and Elvis, she’s one of those performers you’re just glad you had the chance to see.”
