In May of last year, Billy Joel canceled all of his shows due to his normal pressure hydrocephalus diagnosis, which is when cerebrospinal fluid builds up in your skull and presses on your brain. He clarified that he was not dying, but he said his “balance sucks.” Yesterday, the Piano Man performed for the first time since that diagnosis.
On the second day of 2026, there was a birthday bash for the village of Wellington in Florida, where Joel owns some property. As a surprise, he played two songs, “We Didn’t Start The Fire” and “Big Shot,” while the tribute band Turnstiles (yes, Turnstiles, who opened up for Vampire Weekend previously) were covering him at the village amphitheater.
“I wasn’t planning on working tonight,” he said onstage. He’ll be honored at this year’s The Music Of concert at NYC’s Carnegie Hall. Watch footage from yesterday below.
