Now that his Madison Square Garden residency is over, it seems that Billy Joel has found the time to visit a few other major sports venues. He previously announced a short run of stadium shows and has now added to it with a handful of dates, including an April 26 stop at American Family Field.
Joel wrapped up his run at MSG this past July 25, bringing to an end a series of shows he launched back in December of 2013. The finale was his 150th concert of the residency, which sold more than 1.9 million tickets in its decade-plus.
The popularity of those monthly performances stems from a more than 50-year career that started in earnest with his first solo album, Cold Spring Harbor, back in 1971. His initial splash came courtesy of “Captain Jack,” which served as the closing track to sophomore album Piano Man in 1973.
It was another four years before his major breakthrough following the release of 1977’s The Stranger — a 10-times platinum album that piled on hit singles like “Just the Way You Are,” “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” and “Only the Good Die Young.” Still, his first Billboard No. 1 album had to wait for his next release, 1978’s 52nd Street.
Three more chart-topping records followed — Glass Houses (1980), Storm Front (1989) and River of Dreams (1993) — before Joel decided to dial down his new-music output. This year saw him release his first new single in almost two decades, “Turn the Lights Back On.”
Sting has been at it for nearly as long as his fellow legendary musician, joining Stewart Copeland and Henry Padovani to form The Police in 1977. Andy Summers quickly replaced Padovani, and the trio’s debut album, Outlandos d'Amour, gained attention thanks to singles “Roxanne” and “Can’t Stand Losing You.”
Sophomore record Reggatta de Blanc (1979) — powered by singles “Message in a Bottle” and “Walking on the Moon” was the band’s first of four straight No. 1 albums in the U.K. and Australia. The others were Zenyatta Mondatta (1980), Ghost in the Machine (1981) and monster hit Synchronicity (1983), which went eight-times platinum in the United States and included a raft of big singles: “Every Breath You Take,” “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” “King of Pain” and “Synchronicity II.”
Sting went solo shortly thereafter and notched a couple chart-topping albums with 1987’s Nothing Like the Sun and 1991’s The Soul Cages. He’s put out 11 studio LPs since then, most recently 2021’s The Bridge.
If you want to pick up tickets to the Billy Joel-Sting double whammy at American Family Field next April 26, there are a series of pre-sales that start next Monday, Nov. 11, followed by a general sale at 10 a.m. next Friday, Nov. 15. For more information, visit the event page at Ticketmaster.
