Aretha Franklin was set to play not one but two free shows in Brooklyn next week. Sadly, the famous diva has canceled. I can imagine this is causing much pain and consternation over at the Borough President’s Office, which runs the free Martin Luther King, Jr. Concert Series at Wingate Field and the Seaside Summer Concert Series at Asher Levy Park, where Aretha was scheduled to play on August 9 and August 12th respectively. That woman obviously has no respect for Brooklyn…

To be fair, the singer injured herself on Sunday at a show at the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, Mass. This would have been Aretha’s first shows ever in Brooklyn.

I know from talking to Debi Garcia, who runs the  concert series, it was a real coup to get Aretha and they kept it very hush hush until it was publically announced in June. Apparently Markowitz has been trying to get her even since the series started 20 years ago.

Laura Sinagara, the press spokeswoman for BP Markowitz, told the Brooklyn Paper: “we’re quite bummed.” There is talk of rescheduling Aretha’s Brooklyn concert dates but that remains to be seen.

Stay tuned. In the meantime, listen to her album “I Never Loved a Man The Way I Loved You.”