For the longest time, Madison Sq. Backyard has felt like house to 1 piano man.
However after his a hundred and fiftieth present on the iconic New York Metropolis venue on Thursday night time, Billy Joel concluded his residency almost 50 years after his first present on the Backyard and greater than 10 years after it began, in response to an announcement by MSG. His first present there was on Dec. 14, 1978.
Joel, 75, kicked off his decade-long residency again in 2014, agreeing to play one present a month for “so long as the demand continues.”
“The demand by no means stopped,” Dennis Arfa, his agent, stated in a telephone interview.
So an finish was chosen: his a hundred and fiftieth gig on the venue total. In whole, the run grossed greater than $260 million with attendance nearing two million, in response to Pollstar.
Congratulations @billyjoel on 150 lifetime reveals at The Backyard! ✨ pic.twitter.com/e2pIEjNcwi
— MSG (@TheGarden) July 26, 2024
Joel adopted by with that promise and broke his personal file of “most consecutive performances by any artist” together with his thirteenth present at MSG, the venue stated, in January 2015. The second turned cemented in Backyard historical past with a banner within the venue’s rafters.
He broke one other file — “most lifetime performances by any artist” — that July after his sixty fifth lifetime efficiency, MSG stated. One other banner was raised above MSG in his honor.
Final night time Billy Joel had Axl Rose of Weapons N’ Roses as a shock visitor at his final present at Madison Sq. Backyard.
They carried out the legendary tune “Freeway to Hell” by AC/DC. pic.twitter.com/Gd6cU2pdoj
— 🎸 Rock Historical past 🎸 (@historyrock_) July 26, 2024
Over the course of his MSG tenure, he has been joined on stage by a large number of shock friends, together with Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Tony Bennett, Paul Simon, Olivia Rodrigo, Bon Jovi, John Mayer, Miley Cyrus, amongst others.
This present included an look by Jimmy Fallon, who honored the beaming singer because the banner marking the a hundred and fiftieth live performance was hoisted above the stage. (“You’ve given us all nice reminiscences of being right here,” he stated. “We’re really getting to observe you reside a reminiscence.”)
A shock performer, the Weapons N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, strutted in a black blazer twinkling with sequins whereas singing his band’s model of ‘Stay and Let Die’ and a canopy of AC/DC’s ‘Freeway to Hell’; he returned for the finale, becoming a member of Joel on ‘You Might Be Proper.’
Throughout his “legendary run,” greater than 1.9 million tickets have been offered to followers from all 50 U.S. states and greater than 120 international locations, MSG stated.
