New York, NY–Striking those magical black and whites keys never seems to get old for the one they call the “Piano Man” especially when being in his hometown. Billy Joel was back at the Garden for the kickoff of his 2023 residency tour and father time was no where in site. At seventy-three years young, the maestro just continues to get better with time.
Performing before his normal sold out crowd, the seasoned entertainer delivered first class style to his massive collection of award winning hits opening to “Ode To Joy/It’s My Life”, “Pressure”, “Everybody Loves You Now”, “Vienna”, and “Zanibar” featuring his longtime instrumentalist Carl Fischer together with his amazing ensemble.
The multi Grammy Award winning Bronx native has gained a multitude of accolades over the course of his nearly sixty year career with 33 Top 40 hits and 23 Grammy nominations since signing his first solo recording contract in 1972. He was presented with a Grammy Legend Award in 1990, inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 as well as receiving RIAA’s Diamond Award for over ten million copies sold.
With just a fraction of those achievements, one would think the renown pianist/singer-songwriter would be ready to perform his last tune and enjoy the fruits of his labor. Judging from his steady flow of sold out performances, Joel is by far ready to bid his farewell.
The melodious virtuoso resumed his time honored set with “Innocent Man”, “Keeping The Faith”, classic fan favorite “Just The Way You Are” laced with the sensual sax notes of Mark Rivera mesmerizing the sea of his adorn listeners along with “Don’t Ask Me Why, “People Get Ready”, “Say Goodbye To Hollywood”, followed by an ever so smooth duet with beautiful daughter Alexa Ray to his famously theme smash hit “New York State Of Mind” adding that extra smokey flavor to the sultry vibe.
