Nationwide venues honoring Aretha Franklin

Franklin will be honored via marquees across 20 iconic music venues nationwide

National Geographic has teamed with Live Natoin for a nationwide marquee takeover to honor the legacy of the “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin. Twenty marquees are live through Wednesday, March 24th to promote National Geographic’s limited series, Genius: Aretha.

These marquees will once again place Franklin in her rightful spot as a headliner with “All Hail The Queen #GeniusAF 3.21.21.” During an unprecedented time in history, this Genius: Aretha activation not only spotlights the indisputable Queen of Soul’s legacy, but also uplifts live music venues across the nation. Additionally, as part of this activation National Geographic is making a donation to Crew Nation, a global relief fund launched by Live Nation and powered by nonprofit partner Music Forward Foundation that provides financial support for live music crews impacted by the global pandemic and beyond.

The marquee takeover will be featured on the outside of some of the nation’s most iconic venues for ten days, including The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre and The Fillmore Detroit, both in Detroit; Irving Plaza, New York, NY; The Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO; The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA Old National Centre, Indianapolis, IN; Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA; Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA; and others.

From 20th Television and Imagine Television, this new season of the Emmy award-winning anthology series will premiere on National Geographic with double-stacked episodes across four consecutive nights, beginning on Sunday, March 21st at 9 pm ET. The premiere episodes will be available the next day on Hulu, culminating in a celebration of Aretha Franklin’s birthday, with all eight episodes available to stream by Thursday, March 25th.

Genius is National Geographic’s critically acclaimed anthology series that dramatizes the fascinating stories of the world’s most brilliant innovators and their extraordinary achievements with their volatile, passionate and complex personal relationships. This third season will explore Franklin’s musical genius and incomparable career, as well as the immeasurable impact and lasting influence she has had on music and culture around the world. Franklin was a gospel prodigy, an outspoken civil rights champion and widely considered the greatest singer of the past 50 years, receiving countless honors throughout her career. Genius: Aretha will be the first-ever, definitive and only authorized scripted series on the life of the universally acclaimed Queen of Soul.

The cast includes triple threat Tony-, Emmy- and GRAMMY Award-winning Erivo as Aretha Franklin who will be performing many songs from Franklin’s rich catalogue; the Emmy-winning Courtney B. Vance (The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) as Aretha’s father, C.L. Franklin; Malcolm Barrett (Timeless, Preacher) as Ted White, Franklin’s first husband and business manager; David Cross (Mr. Show, Arrested Development) as legendary music producer Jerry Wexler, who guided Franklin as she developed into a confident singer and commercial success; Patrice Covington (The Color Purple, Ain’t Misbehavin’) and Rebecca Naomi Jones (Oklahoma!, The Big Sick) portray Erma and Carolyn Franklin, respectively, as Aretha’s sisters and frequent background singers, who supported and collaborated with their famous sibling; Steven Norfleet (Watchmen, Dynasty) as older brother Cecil Franklin, who stepped in as Aretha’s manager following her divorce from Ted White; veteran actress Pauletta Washington (Beloved, She’s Gotta Have It) as Aretha’s nurturing and loving paternal grandmother, Rachel; Omar J. Dorsey (Queen Sugar) as James Cleveland; Marque Richardson (Dear White People) as King Curtis, Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Vice Principals) as Ruth Bowen; and introducing Shaian Jordan as young Aretha Franklin, aka Little Re.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGqKDWvroM8&ab_channel=NationalGeographic

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com