News Release

Photo: For artist photos, click on: www.carolinaperformingarts.org/media

Al Green to replace Aretha Franklin for season opener

CHAPEL HILL – Soul, rhythm and blues and gospel vocalist Al Green will replace Aretha Franklin as the headliner of Carolina Performing Arts’ 2007-2008 season-opening concert on Sept. 13. 

Green, known for classics including “Let’s Stay Together,” “Tired of Being Alone” and “Here I Am (Come and Take Me),” will perform at 8 p.m. in Memorial Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Franklin, announced last spring for the concert, recently cancelled her appearance. Instead, audiences will see a star from the same era and style in Green, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and winner of nine Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Jazz vocalist Lizz Wright will open.

“While we were disappointed to hear about Aretha’s cancellation, we are thrilled that we have these fabulous artists to help us celebrate the beginning of our third season,” said Emil Kang, executive director for the arts at UNC. “Both Al Green and Lizz Wright are incredible performers, and the evening will surely live up to the high standards we’ve set for our season openers.”

Concert ticket holders interested in exchanges or refunds may contact the Memorial Hall Box Office at (919) 843-3333. Because of the change, Carolina Performing Arts has cancelled its season-opening party, originally scheduled at the Carolina Inn, Kang said. Refunds will be issued to those who purchased party packages. 

Green, whose music career spans more than 40 years, has recorded 34 albums, seven of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts. They include his gospel recordings from the ’80s, which helped prompt Green’s induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2004. An ordained minister, Green continues to preach at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis, Tenn.

Wright exhibits vocal stylings as accessible as traditional adult contemporary music and as soulful as blues and jazz. She followed her debut album of 2003, “Salt,” with sophomore effort “Dreaming Wide Awake” (2005), which earned her comparisons to Diana Krall and Norah Jones.

Tickets for the concert, $34-$75, are available this week to current subscribers and anyone who purchases a series subscription for the 2007-2008 season.

Next Monday (July 23), single-event tickets will go on sale for all season performances, including the Sept. 13 season opener. For tickets or more information, click to www.carolinaperformingarts.org, call (919) 843-3333, or visit the Memorial Hall Box Office on Cameron Avenue, open from noon to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays during the summer. Tickets are $10 for Carolina students.

Al Green Web sites: http://www.algreenmusic.com/ http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/al-green
Lizz Wright site: http://www.lizzwright.net/

Carolina Performing Arts contact: Jennifer Warner, (919) 843-7775, jenniferwarner@unc.edu
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589