First Dates Announced for Billy Joel Solo Tour

First Dates Announced for Billy Joel Solo Tour

Ultimate Career-Spanning Collection, 'My Lives,' With Track Selection Curated By Billy Joel, In Stores Tuesday, November 22, 2005

NEW YORK, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Pop music icon Billy Joel will launch his first solo major concert tour in nearly seven years beginning with concerts in Florida in January 2006. A handful of additional dates have also been announced, with tickets going on sale as early as this month (itinerary follows). A full Billy Joel national tour itinerary is TBA.

The new Billy Joel tour dates mark the first major solo concert performances from the pop superstar since his fabled 1998-99 run, which, over the course of 64 shows, played to 1.1 million fans while grossing $47 million, according to Billboard Boxscore.

Since 1999, Billy Joel's major concert appearances have been on double bills shared with his British piano-playing pop superstar counterpart, Elton John. Together, the Billy Joel and Elton John created the most lucrative co- headlining duo of all time. Last touring together in 2003, Billy and Elton grossed $46 million from just 24 dates.

Coinciding with Joel's upcoming solo concert tour, Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings is preparing the release of My Lives, a lavish five disc (4 CDs + 1 DVD) box-set chronicling the extraordinary musical evolution of superstar Billy Joel, from his early 60s Long Island bar bands through his biggest hits to his most recent classical compositions. My Lives will be in stores on Tuesday, November 22.

My Lives is the first Billy Joel collection to explore the entirety of the artist's career through rarely-heard and highly-collectible material. With a track selection overseen by Billy Joel, My Lives provides new and surprising insights into the artist's creative process. A veritable treasure trove for Billy Joel fans, My Lives brings together rare demos and revelatory alternate takes from all phases of the artist's career, high-octane live performances, and Billy's covers of songs by some of his favorite artists including Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Brian Wilson, Leonard Cohen and others.

In addition to four CDs worth of rare Billy Joel music, My Lives includes "Live From The River Of Dreams," a DVD of Billy performing some of his biggest hits live in Frankfurt, Germany on June 18, 1994.

As part of his long-term commitment to music education, Billy Joel has recently launched an ongoing initiative to provide gifts of seed money, musical scholarships, and endowments to a variety of East Coast colleges, universities, and music schools.

Billy Joel Concert Dates

January 10 Jacksonville Veteran's Memorial Arena
January 12 Tampa St. Pete Times Forum
January 19 Boston TD Bank North Garden
January 23 New York Madison Square Garden
March 7 Philadelphia Wachovia Center
April 8 Las Vegas MGM

Source: Columbia Records

CONTACT: Claire Mercuri, Columbia Records, +1-212-833-5121,
Claire.Mercuri@sonybmg.com

Web site: http://www.columbiarecords.com/
http://www.billyjoel.com/

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