Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan Among The Stars Set To Perform At Aretha Franklin’s Funeral
The late star’s life and musical legacy will also be celebrated with a free concert at Detroit’s Chene Park Amphitheatre on the eve of her funeral.
Aretha Franklin’s funeral is set to take place next week at 10a.m on 31 August at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, Michigan. A slew of stars have been announced to give performances at the ceremony: Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Chaka Khan, Ron Isley, Faith Hill, and many more will perform.
Also scheduled are Shirley Caesar, Jennifer Holliday, Fantasia, and Aretha’s son Edward Franklin. The Aretha Franklin Orchestra and the Aretha Franklin Celebration Choir are also slated to perform during the funeral, which is closed to friends and family.
Former President Bill Clinton is among a list of high-profile speakers scheduled for the event. Other speakers will include former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Motown star and lifelong Franklin friend Smokey Robinson, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and record mogul Clive Davis.
Many of the speakers were close with Franklin: She and Robinson were friends since childhood, when they grew up together on Detroit’s northwest side. The Rev. Jackson was a confidant and spiritual adviser for the singer going back to the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Clive Davis is the high-powered record executive who helped reboot Franklin’s music career with a series of pop hits at Arista Records in the 1980s.
A public viewing for the late star will take place on 28 and 29 August at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit.
Additionally, Aretha Franklin’s life and musical legacy will be celebrated with a free concert at the 6,000-capacity Chene Park Amphitheatre on the eve of her funeral, including performances by Gladys Knight, the Four Tops and Johnny Gill.
More than 20 onstage guests are set for the Chene Park show, which will run 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, 30 August. Other artists include Raheem DeVaughn, Angie Stone and Kierra (Kiki) Sheard, one of several Detroit singers who will perform. Minister Louis Farrakhan will also be part of the event.
Tickets for the free show will be released at Ticketmaster.com at 10 a.m. on Monday, 27 August with a limit of two tickets per user. Ticketmaster is waiving service fees “in honor of the Queen,” according to a Chene Park media release.
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