Billy Joel to Play Monthly MSG Concerts Indefinitely
Sag Harbor’s Billy Joel has played 46 concerts at Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden since 1978 and now he is rearing up to play 46 more.
Joel already has four upcoming concerts at the Garden on the books, and Tuesday he announced that he will perform there monthly for as long as there is demand for tickets. MSG is calling Joel’s run the newest resident franchise at the Garden, in addition to the NBA’s Knicks, NHL’s Rangers and WNBA’s Liberty.
Back in 2006, Joel set a record for the most consecutive sold out shows at the Garden, with 12 performances. He is now poised to break that record in January 2015 if he stays on pace.
His January, February, March and April concerts are already sold out. Tickets go on sale December 7 at 10 am. for his May 9, 2014 performance, which lands on his 65th birthday. There will be a presale for Citi cardholders beginning December 4. Prices range from $64.50 to $124.50.
“Performing at Madison Square Garden is a thrilling experience,” Joel says. “I’ve played different venues all over the world, but there’s no place like coming home to The Garden. Since my first show in 1978, I’ve always looked forward to the energy of the crowd.”
“This new partnership will ensure that someone who has been such an important figure in our past, will also be a major part of our future,” says James L. Dolan, the executive chairman of The Madison Square Garden Company. “We welcome Billy home and look forward to many unforgettable nights of music at the Garden.”
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a regular Hamptons visitor with girlfriend Sandra Lee, calls this “a momentous occasion.”
Catching up w/ @billyjoel & Jim Dolan before announcement @TheGarden pic.twitter.com/dV5TfzwMX0
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 3, 2013
“It is particularly fitting that these two great icons are coming together to make entertainment history right here in New York,” Cuomo says.
Joel has won six Grammys, including the Grammy Legend Award, and has been inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In December, Joel will be a Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honoree. On December 8 at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C., Joel and the other honorees will sit with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for performances and tributes by their peers. It will be broadcast on CBS December 29 at 9 p.m.