In December 1978, Billy Joel headlined Madison Square Garden for the primary time, enjoying three exhibits on the tour for his first No. 1 album, “52nd Street.” Dozens extra performances adopted there over time, and in January 2014, Joel started a month-to-month residency because the Garden’s first “music franchise.”
Now the month-to-month gig is coming to an finish. On Thursday, Joel and the Garden introduced his last 10 exhibits within the sequence, saying the residency will conclude in July 2024 together with his 104th present within the sequence, which will probably be his one hundred and fiftieth lifetime efficiency on the Garden.
“I’m form of flabbergasted that it lasted so long as it did,” Joel stated at a news convention on the Garden. “My crew tells me that we might proceed to promote tickets, however 10 years, 150 exhibits — all proper already!”
James L. Dolan, the chief govt of MSG Entertainment, which owns the Garden and different venues, added: “Billy Joel’s franchise run has made historical past — not just for Madison Square Garden, but in addition for the music industry general.”
Joel’s run at MSG has been a cultural phenomenon and a enterprise unto itself. Every present has bought out, and except for a dozen or two requirements — you’re all however assured to listen to “Piano Man,” “Allentown,” “New York State of Mind” and “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” — the set checklist varies sufficient to maintain followers coming again time and again. The roster of particular friends has included Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, Olivia Rodrigo and Joel’s daughter Alexa Ray Joel.
The residency has continued on a roughly month-to-month schedule since its inception, except for an 18-month break in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, returning in November 2021.
According to the commerce publication Pollstar, Joel’s residency has performed to almost 1.7 million individuals by means of its 89th efficiency in April, and bought $207 million in tickets. By his last present, the residency can have grossed over $250 million.
The thought for the residency took place following Celine Dion’s two record-breaking runs in Las Vegas, which began in 2003 and in the end bought about $660 million in tickets. But Joel balked at touring there. “I knew I didn’t need to be a resident in a spot like Vegas,” he once said. “I don’t even like Vegas.”
Joel’s performances on the Garden have develop into “the Super Bowl of music occasions,” Dennis Arfa, his longtime reserving agent, advised The New York Times final yr. It has additionally inspired a brand new residency mannequin that has currently taken maintain within the music enterprise, with some celebrity artists preferring longer stays at a smaller variety of venues, reasonably than crisscrossing the map one gig at a time — a transfer that may cut back touring prices and supply a little bit of branding buzz. Last yr, for instance, Harry Styles performed 15 dates on the Garden and, in late 2022 and 2023, one other 15 on the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Joel, 74, will start his 10 countdown exhibits on Oct. 20. A consultant for the singer stated that whereas he’s ending this run, Joel shouldn’t be retiring.
“There’s just one factor that’s extra New York than Billy Joel,” Mayor Eric Adams of New York stated in a press release, “and that’s a Billy Joel live performance at MSG.”
Content Source: www.nytimes.com