The Piano Man Announces First Connecticut Concert In Nearly Two Decades

Unlike his 10-year residency at New York's Madison Square Garden, which set a monumental record at the nation's most revered arena, Billy Joel will return to the Mohegan Sun Arena for only one show on Feb. 22, 2025, according to the Hartford Courant. Get your tickets ASAP because those for the Mohegan Sun Arena show go on sale today with various presale offers, then to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. At Mohegan Sun, tickets will be available on Saturday if the show hasn't already sold out. Prices haven't been disclosed yet.

In the 1980s, Billy Joel adapted to the MTV era with popular music videos. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 and was honored with a Kennedy Center Honor in 2013. He is one of the bestselling singer/songwriters in pop history.

In the 1970s, Joel played at several different Connecticut colleges, including the University of Bridgeport in 1972, Quinnipiac College (now Quinnipiac University) in Hamden in 1974, the same year he had his first top 40 hit with "Piano Man," a two-night stand at Connecticut College's Palmer Auditorium in 1976 and at Fairfield University in 1978. In 1977, he also played at The Bushnell in Hartford.

By the 1980s, Joel was mostly playing large arenas, including the New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 1978 and the Hartford Civic Center in 1980. However, in July 1980, he played two surprise concerts at Toad's Place in New Haven, which were recorded for his 1981 live album Songs in the Attic. The secret booking was nearly canceled because Toad's Place owner Mike Spoerndle told so many friends about it.

In 2011, during a lively Q&A session at UConn's Jorgensen Auditorium, he let students sing along to some of his hits. In 2022, Billy headlined the annual Greenwich Town Party event.