BILLY JOEL TO RE-OPEN NASSAU COLISEUM IN APRIL
Billy Joel will open the newly rebuilt Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on April 5th. Billy closed out the original arena -- officially named Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum -- back on August 4th, 2015 with a 34-song set, which featured three songs with Paul Simon and a lighthearted cameo by King Of Queens star Kevin James. The venue has since been drastically modified, cutting its 16,170-seat arena down to smaller 13,000-seat venue.
Billy told Newsday, "I’m really looking forward to playing the opening. I felt a little sad about playing the final show (at the original Nassau Coliseum). It was the end of an era in a way, like Long Island had grown up. . . When we played the final show, we had Paul Simon and Kevin James stop by, even Gov. (Andrew) Cuomo. . . I don’t know what we’re going to do, but a few people may be planning on dropping in. When we were talking about the closing, a few people said they might want to be part of (the reopening)."
- The show, which will be Billy's 33rd performance at the legendary venue, will be the first event following the "20-month, $261 million renovation of the 44-year-old arena."
- Unlike a lot of musicians who struck big and went from club gigs straight to local "enormo-domes" across the country, Billy Joel -- like his Columbia Records labelmate Bruce Springsteen -- made his way up the ranks as a credible live act: "What's interesting to me, I started on my own in the Village. I was in bands that played in New York City before, but I'd never played on my own 'till, I guess 1970, I started in Greenwich Village at the Gaslight. And then I played the Bitter End, the Village Gate, and Max's Kansas City -- and that was club era. And then we moved up to Carnegie Hall, that was a very exciting gig, really exciting. And then we played the Bottom Line, and that was broadcast on the radio. After that, I did Lincoln Center at Philharmonic Hall, and then we started playing Madison Square Garden, which was a big jump." :
- October 28 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
- November 11 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
- November 21 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
- November 30 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
- December 9 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
- December 17 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
- December 31 - Sunrise, FL - BB&T Center
- April 5 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
