Billy Joel is ending his residency at Madison Square Garden — here's what to know about his final shows
The crowds have packed Madison Square Garden for nearly a decade, to forget about life for a while, but now the legendary Piano Man is ending his record-breaking residency in New York.
Billy Joel and the venue announced the singer will be performing for the final time in July 2024. Here's what to know about the last stretch of his residency shows.
The first of Joel's final ten performances will be on Oct. 20, 2023, and tickets for the show will go on sale on Ticketmaster on June 9, a press release from Madison Square Garden said Thursday.
Citi cardmembers will have first access to presale tickets from 10 a.m. ET on June 5 to 10:00 p.m. ET on June 8. Subscribers of Verizon customer loyalty program, Verizon Up, will also have access to presale tickets from June 6 to June 8.
The concerts are expected to sell out, just like the rest of Joel's shows throughout his residency. Concert organizers expect congestion during online ticket sales due to high demand, the press release said.
Tickets will also be available at the Madison Square Garden box office on June 10.
The award-winning artist said he never expected his residency at the venue to last this long. He began performing at the New York arena back in 2014, becoming the Garden's first-ever music franchise. Over the years he has been joined by other big name artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Miley Cyrus, John Mayer and more.
"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!," the singer said in a press conference. "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."
Joel accomplished a great deal during his residence at Madison Square Garden —breaking his own record for "most consecutive performances by any artist" and the record for "most lifetime performances by any artist" after his 65th lifetime show.
In honor of his 100th performance, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo proclaimed July 18, 2018, as "Billy Joel Day" in the state of New York.
Throughout his history-making residency, Joel has sold 1.6 million tickets to fans from all 50 states and 120 countries, according to the press release.
"150 sold out lifetime shows is a remarkable achievement, and speaks to Billy's extraordinary talent, beloved catalog, and dedicated fanbase," said James L. Dolan, the CEO of Madison Square Garden. "Billy always has a home here at MSG even though the residency is coming to an end with his 150th lifetime performance."
Current New York City Mayor Eric Adams also celebrated Joel's accomplishments, adding that his music has unified the city.
"There's only one thing that's more New York than Billy Joel – and that's a Billy Joel concert at MSG," Adams said. "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."