Aretha Franklin has stood up the Triangle again, for the fourth time. Her Oct. 16 show at Durham Performing Arts Center has been postponed to Feb. 9.

Franklin's track record on local cancellations (three since 2005) gives no reason for optimism that the show will happen then, either. But at least this time, there's a plausible excuse.

The Queen of Soul was scheduled to sing last month at a memorial tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington - an event scuttled by Hurricane Irene. That was rescheduled for Oct. 16, necessitating postponement of her Durham date.

In 2005 and 2006, Franklin was scheduled to play Cary's Booth Amphitheater. Both shows were canceled, as was a 2007 date at UNC-Chapel Hill. We'll see if the fourth time turns out to (belatedly) be the charm. The show is sold out, and tickets will be honored. For details, see dpacnc.com.

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