It’s official! Billy Joel has formally announced his final Madison Square Garden residency show on July 25, 2024.
His 104th show will mark the end of the current MSG concert series and his 150th overall performance at the venue he first played at in 1978.
Since the start of his current residency, the now 74-year-old iconic musician has performed at the Manhattan venue almost monthly, with Billy telling reporters that he was “kind of flabbergasted” that his residency has “lasted as long” as it has, adding “My team tells me that we could continue to sell tickets, but 10 years, 150 shows… all right already!”
The only break in his series came during the pandemic when he was forced to take an 18-month hiatus from the stage.
In a June press conference, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said “There’s only one thing that’s more New York than Billy Joel – and that’s a Billy Joel concert at MSG,” with Madison Square Garden hailing Billy’s “extraordinary talent” and insisting he will “always” have a home at the venue.
In a statement about the 9-year long run, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MSG Entertainment James Dolan said “Billy Joel’s franchise run has made history – not only for Madison Square Garden, but also for the music industry overall.” “150 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 ‘Uptown Girl’ singer previously expressed his amazement that people continue to come and see him perform, despite the fact he hasn’t released an album of original material for more than 30 years.
In a 2019 Rolling Stone magazine interview, the legendary singer/songwriter said “I’ve gone onstage and said, ‘I don’t have anything new for you, so we’re just going to play the old s***’. And the audience goes, ‘Yeah!’ ” “I’ll be sitting in the stadium looking out at 30,000, 40,000, 50,000 people, thinking, ‘What the hell are they all doing here? Why now?’ I guess, in a way, I’m an anachronism. There aren’t that many of me left. There’s a rarity to it, which gives it value.”
Tickets for Billy Joel’s final MSG show go on sale Friday, November 10 at 10am.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Adam Weissman