A Tribute to Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul with Damien Sneed and Valerie Simpson

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Throughout an iconic career spanning generations and genres, Aretha Franklin truly earned her title, “The Queen of Soul.” With 112 charted singles on Billboard, 18 GRAMMY Awards, and over 75 million records sold, Franklin performed well into the later years of her illustrious life. This tribute project is particularly special because bandleader, vocalist, and composer Damien Sneed toured with Franklin during these years, developing a close mentee relationship with the soul legend. In “A Tribute to Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul,” Sneed pays homage to the icon with fresh renditions of hits including “Respect,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Natural Woman,” “Knew You Were Waiting,” “Precious Memories,” “Think,” “Until You Come Back to Me,” “Daydreaming,” “Freeway,” and others.

Featured on vocals is the immensely talented Valerie Simpson, a legendary songwriter, producer, and performer. As the duo Ashford & Simpson, she and her late husband Nickolas Ashford penned and produced classics such as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "You're All I Need to Get By," "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand," "I'm Every Woman," and many more that were made famous by Aretha Franklin and her contemporaries.

Vocalist Karen Clark Sheard was previously announced for this performance but will be unable to appear (updated December 6, 2021).

This performance is generously sponsored by 
Julia Byers & Steven Holtzman.