Finally! He’ll actually hold a concert out in Brooklyn.
Billy Joel, the Long Island singer and songwriter whose brand of classic rock sells out arenas across the globe, will play a one-night-only show at the Barclays Center this New Year’s Eve.
The concert will be the first show in Brooklyn for the musician — who famously sang about playing a set in 1970s-Brooklyn as the city around him collapsed in the masterpiece “Miami 2017 (I’ve Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” — and his first in New York City since he played Shea Stadium in 2008 just before it was torn down.
“We are thrilled that he has chosen Brooklyn first in making his return,” said Barclays Center chief Brett Yormark outside the arena on Wednesday. “It’s going to be a truly exciting night.”
Joel was born in the Bronx, but does have some Brooklyn roots, according to Borough President Markowitz, who claimed the rocker informed him that his grandparents lived in Flatbush, and he would go to shows at the Loews theater on Flatbush Avenue.
Those roots may have led to inspiration for some of his lyrics. The balladeer mentions the Borough of Kings in a few of his songs, claiming he was crazy for walking “through Bedford-Stuy alone” in “You May Be Right,” a chart-topper from 1980’s “Glass Houses.” His last No. 1 hit, “We Didn’t Start the Fire” off of 1989’s “Storm Front,” notes that the Brooklyn Dodgers won a championship in 1955.
Tickets for the show will go on sale on Nov. 9 at 10 am at barclayscenter.com, ticketmaster.com, or by calling (800) 745–3000.
The show will begin at 9 pm, with the band Ben Folds Five — featuring latter-day piano man Ben Folds — opening for Joel.
Billy Joel at the Barclays Center [620 Atlantic Ave. at Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Heights, (800) 745–3000] 9 pm on Dec. 31, 2013. Tickets go on sale on Nov. 9.
