The Piano Man plays his first notes since his health hiatus
The chords of ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ crackled with unexpected energy in a Florida amphitheatre last Friday night.
In a moment of pure, spontaneous joy, Billy Joel reclaimed the stage for the first time since disclosing a diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus.
The music legend, who cancelled all shows in May 2025 on doctors’ orders, joined the cover band Turnstiles for a surprise two-song set in Wellington.
With daughters Della and Remy dancing beside the piano, Joel performed with characteristic wit. “I wasn’t planning on working tonight,” he quipped.
This brief but resonant appearance, following months of physical therapy, offered a powerful glimpse of the artist’s journey.
While insisting last summer he was “not dying” and that his “brain disorder” sounded worse than he felt, the performance was a tentative, hopeful note for fans, leaving the door to a fuller return tantalisingly ajar.
