More than 50 years into his career, Billy Joel will air one of his concerts on a broadcast network for the first time.
The singer-songwriter’s The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time concert special was announced in a promotional spot on CBS on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 11).
The special is scheduled to be filmed on March 28, which will mark Joel’s 100th consecutive performance at the iconic New York City venue. His first gig at Madison Square Garden was on Dec. 14, 1978.
It’s set to air on Sunday, April 14 from 9 to 11 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. The special will also be available to stream live or on demand in the United States for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers; Paramount+ Essential subscribers will have access to watch it on demand in the U.S. the day after its debut.
The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time — directed by Paul Dugdale and executive produced by Steve Cohen, Barry Ehrmann and Paul Dugdale — is a co-production of Sony Music Entertainment and Enliven Entertainment, with Sony Music Vision as the distributor.
Joel recently released his first new single in 17 years, “Turn the Lights Back On,” and performed it live for the first time at the 2024 Grammys.
The song — penned by by Joel, Arthur Bacon, Wayne Hector and Freddy Wexler — blasted onto Billboard‘s Adult Contemporary chart, debuting at No. 11 after just one day of airplay.
“The melody, the chords, the chord progression, even the time signature was something that struck me immediately, and that’s how I relate to music,” Joel said earlier this month on Audacy Check In, recalling when he first heard the song co-writer Wexler had started working on. “This particular lyric in this song, I’ve had these thoughts, I could have written these lyrics verbatim. I’ve chewed on these words and I’ve thought of these words, and I’ve said these words before. It was all kind of falling into place — and who am I to fight that?”
The Piano Man is slated to perform at select stadiums around the U.S. with Stevie Nicks and Sting in between his ongoing residency at Madison Square Garden. See his 2024 tour dates here.