Billy Joel is signing off at Madison Square Garden next year.
Billy Joel is finally moving out of his monthly perch at Madison Square Garden. The singer-songwriter says he will conclude his residency in July 2024 with his 150th lifetime performance at the venue.
“It’s hard to believe we’ve been able to do this for 10 years,” Joel said at a news conference Thursday. “I’m now 74. I’ll be 75 next year. It seems like a nice number.”
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“There’s only one thing that’s more New York than Billy Joel — and that’s a Billy Joel concert at MSG,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “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.”
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Joel is playing the Garden on Friday night. So he’s got 14 shows left, including this one. It’s hard to imagine MSG would ever have any sort of residency like his again, much less one that sets all kinds of venue and world records. I can’t think of any other artist that would fit the bill. Maybe a comedian like John Mulaney could pull it off. Doubt it though.
Joel should only do the 80s stuff for one of these final shows.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
