NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Billy Joel will end his record-breaking residency at Madison Square Garden in 2024 after 10 years and 150 concerts, officials said Thursday.
Joel joined Mayor Eric Adams and others at a press conference announcing that the rock legend will play 10 more concerts at the Garden. The first of the final shows will be on Oct. 20, 2023. The final show will be held in July 2024.
Joel said he never thought the monthly residency would last as long as it did.
"I didn't know how long it was going to last," he said. "I thought there would be an arc to it, maybe it will sell well in the beginning and then eventually it's going to dwindle out. But it keeps selling, and people keep coming, and people keep buying tickets."
"I'll be 75 next year," he added. "It seems like a nice number to say, 'Okay, thank you.'"
The residency has sold more than 1.6 million tickets and broken the record for most consecutive performances by any artist.
Humble and self-deprecating, Joel said it's time to end the run—but not his affiliation and affection for New York City.
"I mean, despite what you've read, I'm selling my house on Long Island but I'm not leaving New York," he said. "I'm just spending a little more time down in Florida, like old Jewish guys do from New York City."
Joel has made such a mark at the Garden that he even has a banner hanging in the rafters to commemorate him along with other arena legends like Mark Messier and Patrick Ewing.
Rangers superstar Henrik Lundqvist said Thursday that he always noticed that banner.
"Every time I'd come back playing home here at the Garden, and you'd look up, and the number just kept going up and up over the years," Lundqvist said.
"Job well done, brother," Adams said, heaping praise on the singer-songwriter for capturing "the essence of New York City."
The mayor said the Garden's home in the greatest city in the world makes it "the most important arena."
"And that makes Billy Joel the most important artist," he said.
"Billy Joel's franchise run has made history -- not only for Madison Square Garden, but also for the music industry overall," James L. Dolan, the executive chairman and chief executive officer of MSG Entertainment, said in a statement. "150 sold out lifetime shows is a remarkable achievement, and speaks to Billy's extraordinary talent, beloved catalog, and dedicated fanbase."
"Billy always has a home here at MSG," he said.
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