Billy Joel has announced his long-running, monthly concert residency at Madison Square Garden in New York is drawing to a close after nearly a decade. Joel’s final concert as part of the series will take place in July 2024 with Joel’s 104th show as part of the residency, and 150th performance at the venue overall.
As the New York Times reports, Joel announced his final 10 shows as part of the residency – the first of which will take place in October – during a press conference at the Garden on Thursday (June 1). Joel told those present he was “kind of flabbergasted” the series “lasted as long as it did”. He added: “My team tells me that we could continue to sell tickets, but 10 years, 150 shows… all right already!”
Joel first performed at the iconic venue in 1978, playing three shows as part of his tour for sixth album ’52nd Street’. He was a regular fixture at the venue over the ensuing decades, playing dozens of shows, and kicked off a residency at the venue in January 2014 as its first-ever music franchise.
Since then, Joel has performed almost monthly at the venue, with the series’ only major disruption coming when it was paused for 18 months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each show has sold out. Over the years, Joel has brought out a wide range of special guests to perform with him at the Garden, from Bruce Springsteen to Olivia Rodrigo, who duetted with Joel on ‘Deja Vu’ and ‘Uptown Girl’ last year.
“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 Adams said at Thursday’s press conference. MSG CEO James Dolan said Joel’s franchise had “made history – not only for Madison Square Garden, but also for the music industry overall”.