Piano Man to Say Goodbye: Billy Joel Says He’ll End Decade-Long MSG Gig in July ‘24
Billy Joel will play his last show at the “world’s most famous arena” in July of 2024. Mayor Eric Adams and MSG chairman James Dolan joined the “Piano Man” at a press conference, exulting in the historic run by a New York fan favorite.
| 05 Jun 2023 | 01:01
Billy Joel and Mayor Eric Adams, pictured at a press conference that had the “Piano Man” announcing that he will be ending his decade-long MSG residency next summer. Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office (
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The “Piano Man”, who has played over 150 concerts at Madison Square Garden, is bringing his decade-long run of monthly shows to an end next July. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Billy Joel, the NYC titan of working-class city-slicker anthems ranging from “Uptown Girl” to “Moving Out (Anthony’s Song)”, has been catering to enraptured fans with a Madison Square Garden residency for the last ten years. Yet all good things must come to an end, and the 74 year-old singer announced that after 150 shows he would be stepping back from the monthly residency in July of 2024. That will the last of a ten-show run (perhaps to echo ten years) that will commence on October 20, 2023. Billy Joel played his first gig at the Garden on December 14th, 1978.
“I’m kind of flabbergasted that it lasted as long as it did. My team tells me that we could continue to sell tickets, but ten years, 150 shows - all right already!” Joel said at a press conference with Mayor Eric Adams and MSG CEO James Dolan announcing the end of the residency.
He added that “I do remember the first time we played Madison Square Garden, it was the pinnacle of my career. I thought, ‘My God, I’m headlining Madison Square Garden.’ Everybody in the world knows when you play The Garden, it’s not just New York. To our audience, I want to thank them for coming to our shows for this long. It’s hard to end, even at 150 lifetime shows. I just want to thank everyone for the wonderful thing that’s happened here.”
Happy to take part in the proceedings, Mayor Eric Adams mused that “There’s only one thing that’s more New York than Billy Joel — and that’s a Billy Joel concert at MSG. For more than 50 years, Billy’s music has defined our city and brought us together. On behalf of 8.5 million New Yorkers, congratulations, Billy, on a historic run of sold-out shows at MSG, and thank you for a lifetime of bringing joy to us all.”
Dolan jumped in to proclaim that “Billy Joel’s franchise run has made history—not only for Madison Square Garden, but also for the music industry overall. One hundred fifty sold out lifetime shows is a remarkable achievement, and speaks to Billy’s extraordinary talent, beloved catalog, and dedicated fanbase. Billy always has a home here at MSG even though the residency is coming to an end with his 150th lifetime performance.”
The residency has seen over 1.6 million tickets sold, according to Forbes. Tickets for the last ten shows will be on sale for the general public on Ticketmaster starting on June 9 at 10 a.m. EST. Presale will run from June 5th at 10 a.m. EST to June 8th at 10 p.m. EST.
“There’s only one thing that’s more New York than Billy Joel — and that’s a Billy Joel concert at MSG.” Mayor Eric Adams