After ten years and 104 shows, Billy Joel is “Movin’ Out” of Madison Square Garden. The iconic “Piano Man” will end his record-setting years-long residency at Madison Square Garden with his 150th lifetime performance in July 2024.
Revealed on Thursday during a press conference, Joel announced plans for his final ten concerts at the World’s Most Famous Arena. The first in the final run of concerts is set for October 20th, 2023, with the rest of the shows taking place between then and the finale in July 2024.
“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. “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.”
Joel’s storied history with MSG began back on December 14th, 1978 with his debut at the arena. Since then, Joel has continued to break his own records with each passing performance. After staging 12 consecutive concerts in 2006, he set the record for “most consecutive performances by any artists (Phish would later surpass that with the band’s Baker’s Dozen in 2017, though by then Joel was well beyond his original record).
“Billy Joel’s franchise run has made history—not only for Madison Square Garden, but also for the music industry overall,” James L. Dolan, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, MSG Entertainment said. “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.”
Related: Billy Joel Pays Tribute To Jeff Beck At Madison Square Garden [Watch]
In December 2013, Joel joined the ranks of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers as an official franchise at Madison Square Garden. The first “musical franchise” of its kind, Joel began his residency the following year, promising to play one show a month at the Garden “as long as the demand continues.”
Fast forward nearly a decade, and Joel has been adorned with banners, records, and even his own day in New York State (July 18th, 2018 in honor of his 100th lifetime show at Madison Square Garden). For that milestone concert, Bruce Springsteen stopped by to help celebrate the occasion with Joel, adding to the long list of special guests who have played with Joel on his home court including John Mayer, Miley Cyrus, Paul Simon, John Fogerty, Olivia Rodrigo, Billy Gibbons, and more. Over the course of his MSG run, Joel has sold more than 1.6 million tickets to fans from all 50 states and 120 countries around the globe.
“There’s only one thing that’s more New York than Billy Joel—and that’s a Billy Joel concert at MSG,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. “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.”
Tickets for the first of ten final Billy Joel residency shows at Madison Square Garden on October 20th, 2023 go on sale to the public on Friday, June 9th at 10 a.m. Various pre-sales will also occur throughout the week, including those for Citi cardmembers on June 5th at 10 a.m. and Verizon Up members on June 5th at 10 a.m. A press release asks fans to continue to check Ticketmaster as tickets will be available throughout the day. Tickets will also be available at the Madison Square Garden box office on June 10th.
The post Billy Joel To End Madison Square Garden Residency With 150th Lifetime Show appeared first on L4LM.
