Billy Joel will play the final show of his long-running monthly residency at Madison Square Garden on July 25, but there’s good news for fans still hoping to see the Piano Man perform in and near New York City. In the latest episode of the “Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist” segment of NBC’s Sunday Today, Joel noted that the end of his residency will free him up to play other Big Apple-area venues again.
Joel explained that there’s an “exclusivity aspect to the Madison Square Garden deal” that basically prevented him from playing concerts at other locations near the famous arena during the residency. He revealed that with the residency concluding, he’s “going to be playing in New York again because we can do other venues.”
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Joel continued, “And now, we can play stadiums. Yankee Stadium, [MetLife] Stadium, Citi Field, where the Mets play, so there’s plenty of that lined up.”
Having said that, Joel pointed out that just because he’s ending his Madison Square Garden residency, it “doesn’t mean I’ll never play there again.” He added, “It just means it’s the end of this run.”
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Joel also noted, “I’m not going to stop doing shows. That’s what I do.” He reported, “We have a whole schedule laid out into 2025, where we’re going to be playing.”
Joel Reflected on the End of the Residency
During the interview, Joel reflected on the end of his residency, which began in 2014, and his experiences regularly playing shows at the historic arena.
“Well, I’m kind of sad it’s ending,” he shared. “Ten years in Madison Square Garden is beyond my dreams as a musician. We were the house band for 10 years at the Garden, which I think is the best performance venue in the world. I’ve been all over the world. I’ve played all kinds of stadiums, arenas, coliseums, theaters. The Garden is the best sound. And it’s in New York which is usually a crazy audience, and they make a lot of noise, and we have fun.”
No Plans for a New Album
In February 2024, Joel released his first new original song in more than 16 years, “Turn the Lights back On.” During the Sunday Today interview, he was asked if he now has any plans to release a new full-length album. “No, not as far as I’m aware of,” he replied.
Joel’s 2024 Tour Plans
As previously noted, Joel’s final show of Madison Square Garden residency is scheduled for July 25.
After that, he has six more concerts lined up for 2024. They in including headlining shows on August 9 in on Cardiff, U.K., and October 12 in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California. Joel also has a joint performance with Rod Stewart scheduled for September 13 in Cleveland, and three co-headlining dates with Sting: on September 27 in St. Louis, October 25 in San Antonio, and November 9 in Las Vegas.
Tickets for Joel’s concerts can be purchased now via a variety of outlets, including StubHub.
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