Billy Joel has announced that his Madison Square Garden residency will come to an end with his 150th show at the venue in July 2024.
The news was revealed during a press conference held at the venue Thursday morning. It was also announced that the first of Joel’s final 10 shows will take place on Oct. 20.
“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 10 years …150 shows – all right already!” Joel said at the press conference, where his wife and two young daughters were also in attendance. “I do remember the first time I played at Madison Square Garden, it was the pinnacle of my career. It was, ‘My God, I’m headlining Madison Square Garden.’ Everybody in the world knows when you play at the Garden, it’s not just New York, everybody knows when you’ve done the Garden. I never imagined anyone could have a residency here, it’s just been one crazy, exhilarating night after another. We didn’t think it would last 10 years.
“To me, my band, Madison Square Garden is more than just our office – it’s home,” Joel continued. “And to our audience, I want to thank them for coming to our shows for this long, for this much. It’s hard to end, 150-lifetime shows. … I just want to thank everyone for the wonderful thing that’s happened here.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke at the press conference, too. ”I started my day, I get in the back of the SUV with my security detail. I place on earphones and I played ‘New York State of Mind,'” he recalled. “[Joel] captured the essence of New York City. He was an ambassador of what’s great about New York, and where the American dream lives and grows every day. … This was a revival, not merely a residency.”
In December 2013, Joel was named the venue’s first-ever musical franchise, joining original franchises the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. In January 2014, Joel’s residency began, playing one show each month “as long as the demand continues,” he said. To date, more than 1.6 million fans have attended the residency. Tickets for the Oct. 20 show will go on sale on June 9, while details on ticketing for the July 2024 finale have yet to be announced.
Joel is next scheduled to perform at the Garden on Friday night. In addition to the rest of his 2023 MSG shows, Joel is also scheduled to perform six more joint concerts with Stevie Nicks this year in Philadelphia; Kansas City; Foxborough, Massachusetts; Baltimore; Minneapolis; and Phoenix.
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