The Piano Man recently wrapped a ten-year run at The World’s Greatest Arena
This weekend on Sunday Today, Willie Geist chats with Billy Joel who teased his upcoming plans after ending his Madison Square Garden residency last month.
“We’re going to continue to do shows,” Joel tells Geist in a teaser released by NBC News. “We have a whole schedule laid out into 2025, where we’re going to be playing.”
Joel elaborated on an “exclusivity aspect to the Madison Square Garden deal,” that prevented him from playing additional shows in the New York City area. He says now that the residency is over, he’s “going to be playing in New York again because we can do other venues.”
“And now, we can play stadiums. Yankee Stadium, Giants Stadium, Citi Field, where the Mets play, so there’s plenty of that lined up,” he adds. “I’m not going to stop doing shows. That’s what I do.”
Joel says he’s not planning on retiring anytime soon.
“What else am I going to do? Stop doing shows and sit around, and watch TV, and turn into a vegetable? No. I don’t want to do that,” he shares.
The full interview will air on NBC News’ Sunday Today with Willie Geist on Sunday, August 18th. Check local listings.
In December 2013, Joel was named Madison Square Garden’s first-ever music franchise, joining the ranks of the storied venue’s other original franchises – the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. The record-breaking residency began in January 2014 with Joel playing one show every month at The Garden for, as Joel said at the time, “as long as the demand continues.” In January 2015, Joel broke his own record of the “most consecutive performances by any artist” with the 13th show of the residency and a new banner was raised to The Garden’s rafters. In July 2015, with his 65th lifetime show, Joel broke another record for the “most lifetime performances by any artist,” for which another banner was raised. Both of Joel’s banners continue to hang at The Garden and are replaced each month with each performance. Joel’s ten-year run wrapped on July 25th with his 150th lifetime performance at the historic New York City venue.
Earlier this year, CBS commemorated the run with Joel’s first broadcast concert special. The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Graden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time was shot at Joel’s record-breaking 100th consecutive performance at Madison Square Garden as part of his franchise run on March 28th and featured his first single in decades, “Turn The Lights Back On.”
The 74-year-old Piano Man will headline a series of stadiums throughout 2024. Solo dates and concerts with both Stevie Nicks and Sting are scheduled through the fall.
