'All Right Already!' Billy Joel Announces End of Historic 150-Show Residency at Madison Square Garden Musician Billy Joel announced that his 10-year residency at Madison Square Garden in New York City is coming to a close.
By Dan Bova
I am from Long Island, so I am legally obligated to care about this: Billy Joel announced that his monthly residency at New York City's Madison Square Garden will play its final encore next year, ending with his 150th performance in the venue in July of 2024.
Speaking at a press conference, the Piano Man explained, "I'm kinda flabbergasted that it did last as long as it did," adding, "My team tells me that we could continue to sell tickets, but 10 years, 150 shows — all right already!"
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Joel began his musical habit of playing consecutive shows at MSG with a three-night run in 1978 and he has gone on to headline 136 concerts there, which is 60 more than any other artist, MSG Executive Vice President Josephine Vaccarello told CNN. She added that Joel holds a record for the most consecutive performances by any artist at the Garden. It's estimated that he has sold more than 1.6 million tickets during his decades-long stint.
James Dolan, executive chairman and chief executive officer of MSG Entertainment, said at the conference: "Although the residency is coming to an end, we look forward to an exciting closing run to celebrate all that you have accomplished and forever welcome you back home to the garden anytime, anytime you like." (Then he was presumably booed out of habit by any Knicks fan who might have been strolling by.)
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"It's hard to end – even 150-lifetime shows," said Joel, "But as I said, we're not abandoning New York, we're just spending a bit more time someplace else."
Where's he heading? Allentown would be the educated guess.
