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For the longest time, Madison Square Garden has felt like home to one piano man.<\/p>\n
But after his 150th show at the iconic New York City venue on Thursday night, Billy Joel<\/strong> <\/a>concluded his residency nearly 50 years after his first show at the Garden and more than 10 years after it started, according to a statement by MSG. His first show there was on Dec. 14, 1978.<\/p>\n Joel, 75, kicked off his decade-long residency back in 2014, agreeing to play one show a month for \u201cas long as the demand continues.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe demand never stopped,\u201d Dennis Arfa<\/strong>, his agent, said in a phone interview.<\/p>\n So an end was selected: his 150th gig at the venue overall. In total, the run grossed more than $260 million with attendance nearing two million, according to Pollstar.<\/p>\n Congratulations @billyjoel<\/a> on 150 lifetime shows at The Garden! \u2728 pic.twitter.com\/e2pIEjNcwi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MSG (@TheGarden) July 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Joel followed through with that promise and broke his own record of \u201cmost consecutive performances by any artist\u201d with his 13th show at MSG, the venue said, in January 2015. The moment became cemented in Garden history with a banner in the venue\u2019s rafters.<\/p>\n He broke another record \u2014 \u201cmost lifetime performances by any artist\u201d \u2014 that July after his 65th lifetime performance, MSG said. Another banner was raised above MSG in his honor.<\/p>\n Last night Billy Joel had Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses as a surprise guest at his last show at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n They performed the legendary song “Highway to Hell” by AC\/DC. pic.twitter.com\/Gd6cU2pdoj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 \ud83c\udfb8 Rock History \ud83c\udfb8 (@historyrock_) July 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Over the course of his MSG tenure, he has been joined on stage by a multitude of surprise guests, including Bruce<\/strong> Springsteen<\/strong><\/a>, Sting<\/strong><\/a>, Tony Bennett<\/strong><\/a>, Paul Simon<\/strong><\/a>, Olivia Rodrigo<\/strong><\/a>, Bon Jovi<\/strong><\/a>, John Mayer<\/strong><\/a>, Miley Cyrus<\/strong><\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n This show included an appearance by Jimmy Fallon<\/strong><\/a>, who honored the beaming singer as the banner marking the 150th concert was hoisted above the stage. (\u201cYou\u2019ve given us all great memories of being here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re actually getting to watch you live a memory.\u201d)<\/p>\n A surprise performer, the Guns N\u2019 Roses frontman Axl Rose<\/strong><\/a>, strutted in a black blazer twinkling with sequins while singing his band\u2019s version of \u2018Live and Let Die\u2019 and a cover of AC\/DC\u2019s \u2018Highway to Hell\u2019; he returned for the finale, joining Joel on \u2018You May Be Right.\u2019<\/p>\n During his \u201clegendary run,\u201d more than 1.9 million tickets have been sold to fans from all 50 U.S. states and more than 120 countries, MSG said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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