Music legend Billy Joel announced on Thursday morning that his record-breaking residency at Madison Square Garden will be coming to an end.
The 74-year-old singer and songwriter, known lovingly as the Piano Man, will play his final show in 2024. Joel’s final performance is slated for next July, which will mark his 150th show during his monthly residency.
Fans may love “The Entertainer,” but for Joel, playing the Garden every month beyond the decade-long run was questionable — though his fans are always “in the mood for a melody.”
“My team tells me that we could continue to sell tickets, but 10 years, I don’t know,” Joel said.
This comes hot on the heels that Joel would be selling his 26-acre, Long Island estate for about $49 million. Joel himself confirmed the report while also saying that he won’t be leaving New York, he “will just be spending more time in Florida,” Joel said.
“It’s hard to believe that we’ve been able to do this for 10 years,” he recalled of the decade-long residency at “The World’s Most Famous Arena” that will “slowly fade away” like a souvenir next summer.
Joel began his residency at Madison Square Garden back in 2014. The sold-out atmosphere of each concert — attracting diverse audiences of Joel fans, young and not-so-young — often become giant singalongs, with thousands acting like backup singers as he belts out their favorites, such as “New York State of Mind,” his love letter to the Big Apple; “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” and “You May Be Right.”
Nine years later, the Piano Man is nearing his 136th headline show of all time since singing his first song there in 1978.
Mayor Eric Adams and MSG Owner James Dolan were among those participating in Joel’s announcement Thursday, with Dolan calling the historic residency an amazing achievement.
“It’s the most amazing accomplishment and we’re very, very proud to be part of it. And we knew we would sell out shows for, you know, a handful of years. But 10 years later, every single show sold out,” Dolan marveled. “It exceeded even our wildest dreams.”
Tickets for the final ten shows will go on sale June 5 at 10 a.m. through Thursday, June 8 at 10 p.m.
The first performance in Joel’s final MSG run will take place on Oct. 20, 2023. Citi cardmembers will have first access to presale tickets.
With reporting by Robert Pozarycki
