Once the audience realized the guest of honor was in attendance, the sold-out room stood and chanted “Let’s Go, Billy” halfway into the Michael Dorf Presents: The 21st Annual Music Of tribute concert honoring Billy Joel at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 12. At the venue where Joel first played in 1977, the concert ran through his 50-year catalog of songs, performed by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Natalie Merchant, Train’s Pat Monahan, Rob Thomas, Yola, Rufus Wainwright, and more.
Each year, 100 percent of the net proceeds from the tribute concert, started by City Winery founder Michael Dorf, benefit non-profit music education organizations, including Music Will (formerly Little Kids Rock), Young Audiences NY, Church Street School of Music, Partnership with Children, Jazz Foundation of America, The Orchestra Now, and The Perlman Music Program, among others.
Dorf opened the night by telling the crowd that the concert had surpassed its goal, raising more than $225,000, which marks the largest fundraising in the history of the Music Of series, since its inception in 2004, before handing the stage to Yola, who opened the show with “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song).”
Next, Thomas delivered a soulful “Vienna, ” adding the second of several songs pulled from Joel’s 1977 album The Stranger throughout the evening.
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Led by Joel’s longtime musical director and keyboardist David Rosenthal, performances were backed by a house band of musicians who have worked with Joel for a combined 218 years, including Mark Rivera, Crystal Taliefero, Tommy Byrnes, Andy Cichon, Chuck Burgi, and Carl Fischer.
The Stranger resurfaced with Monahan on “She’s Always a Woman,” and Mary Chapin Carpenter delivered one of many pin-drop moments on a gentle rendition of Joel’s 1989 ballad, “And So It Goes.”
“Billy Joel is a master songwriting motherf–ker,” said Matt Nathanson, joking about recently going down a Billy Joel rabbit hole, a “Jole hole,” and bringing sheet music to the stage since Joel’s songs were filled with many chords. “If I f–k up these chords, it’s art,” added Nathanson, serving double duty on Joel’s 1989 hit “I Go to Extremes” and “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway).”
Sitting at the piano, Jon McLaughlin moved through “Everybody Loves You Now” before Joel’s daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, dressed in a black and white bow-tied evening gown, gloves, revisited her father’s “doo wop” day, joined by the band on “This Night” from Joel’s 1983 album The Innocent Man.
“Dad, I want to dedicate this song to you,” said Alexa Ray. “And I also want to dedicate this song to my mother, who is my golden muse.”
More songs from The Innocent Man were added in when Rosenthal put a classical spin on Joel’s “The Longest Time” as a piano sonata, and Curtis Harding took the night back to Joel’s 1983 ode to former wife Christie Brinkley, “Uptown Girl.”
Wainwright reflected on his own daughter before singing the tender “Lullabye, Goodnight My Angel,” which was written for Alexa Ray, while Ledisi lit the evening up with a powerful rendition of Joel’s 2024 single “Turn the Lights Back On,” co-written with Freddy Wexler.
Violinist Itzhak Perlman reminded the audience of the credit of “World Famous Incognito Violinist” on Joel’s 1989 album Storm Front, then added, “Well, the secret is out: it’s me. Thank you very much, Billy. Thank you for giving me the opportunity.” Perlman was joined by O.A.R.’s Mark Roberge on a sonorous “The Downeaster Alexa.”
Bettye LaVette praised music education and schools, and poured her heart into a soulful “He’s Got a Way.”
In the middle of the night, Todd Kamelhar from the Billy Joel Foundation shared words about the organization, which supports music education programs across New York City, and called out Joel, who was in attendance on an upper tier, followed by audience chants of “Let’s Go, Billy.”
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The start of the second half of the show highlighted the importance of music education in schools, when Wyclef Jean was joined by kids who have benefited from the Music Will program on the Joel classic “My Life.”
Neal Frances brought in a deeper cut from Joel’s 1978 album, 52nd Street, with “Stiletto,” and Sammy Rae did the same, offering “Get it Right the First Time” from The Stranger, after offering a jazzy scat around Joel’s classic “River of Dreams.”
“He’s taught me so much througout my career,” said Rae. “What matters is that the song is good.”
Reflecting on growing up in a working-class family in Upstate, New York, Merchant remembers thinking “he’s singing about us,” before hitting the first notes on the piano of Joel’s 1982 song “Allentown.”
Higher spirits picked up when Joel’s band returned with “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” hitting the crescendo in all the right spots. Gavin DeGraw shared how, when he first saw Billy Joel when he was 15 at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, NY, he realized that he should pursue music, and shared “Big Shot.” More New Yorkers came out to honor Joel with Lawrence’s jazz-funk “Only the Good Die Young.”
Andrew McMahon of Jack’s Mannequin also shared memories of listening to Joel’s Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II, and first seeing the Piano Man play in Cleveland, the same city where he would later support Joel in 2017. “If my 10-year-old self could see me now,” McMahon said, taking up all the acoustics on “Piano Man.”
Looking on, seated next to Pink and her daughter, Willow Sage Hart, Joel, 76, didn’t perform during the tribute but did receive a second chant, of “Billy” this time, from the audience later in the night. In 2025, Joel was forced to cancel tour dates and take a break from performing after being diagnosed with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, a neurological condition that affects hearing, vision, and balance.
Joel’s tribute closed with a finale, featuring the lineup from the night, on a sing-along to “You May Be Right.”
“It was an incredible honor to celebrate Billy Joel’s extraordinary songbook at Carnegie Hall and to have Billy himself in the room for the evening,” said Dorf, in a statement following the concert. Past Music Of concerts have honored Paul McCartney, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Led Zeppelin, Patti Smith, David Bowie, and more.
“Seeing so many remarkable artists come together to interpret his music — and witnessing the audience’s response — was truly special,” added Dorf. “What makes the night even more meaningful is the impact it has beyond the stage, helping support music education programs and ensuring the next generation of musicians has the opportunity to learn, create, and be inspired.”
The Music Of tribute concert will return to Carnegie Hall on March 10, 2027.
Michael Dorf Presents Music Of Tribute to Billy Joel Setlist:
“Movin’ Out” — Yola
“Vienna” — Rob Thomas
“She’s Always a Woman” — Pat Monahan
“And So It Goes” — Mary Chapin Carpenter
“I Go to Extremes” — Matt Nathanson
“Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” — Matt Nathanson
“Everybody Loves You Now” — Jon McLaughlin
“This Night” — Alexa Ray Joel
“Lullabye, Goodnight my Angel” — Rufus Wainwright
“Turn the Lights Back On” — Ledisi
“The Downeaster Alexa” —Mark Roberge and Itzhak Perlman
“He’s Got a Way” — Bettye LaVette
“The Longest Time” (Piano Sonata) — David Rosenthal
“My Life” — Wyclef Jean and the Music Will Kids
“Siletto” — Neal Frances
“River of Dreams” — Sammy Rae
“Get it Right the First Time” — Sammy Rae
“Allentown” — Natalie Merchant
“Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” — The Billy Joel Band
“Uptown Girl” — Curtis Harding
“Big Shot” — Gavin DeGraw
“Only The Good Die Young” — Lawrence
“Piano Man” — Andrew McMahon
“You May Be Right” — Encore
Photo: Bobby Bank/WireImage
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