Billy Joel hasn’t played an official concert since Feb. 22, 2025, when he suffered a fall onstage at a performance in Connecticut and would go on to be diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).
Now, it seems, following a successful brain surgery that improved some of his symptoms, the Piano Man is finally healthy enough to return to the stage. And he’s starting in his hometown. A resident of Boca Raton’s The Sanctuary since 2024, Joel will make his first scheduled appearance since his injury at Florida Atlantic University, on Monday, Dec. 14.
And here’s the kicker, sure to disappoint thousands: The show, titled “Billy Joel: An Evening of Questions & Answers … And a Little Music,” is open only to currently enrolled FAU students, who will be able to access tickets beginning on Thursday of this week. Joel dropped the news on Monday on his Instagram account, which a day later had accrued more than 26,000 Likes.
The amount of music that will be played at the show, which is primarily an in-person AMA, remains to be seen. But suffice it to say that a fair amount of Boca Ratonians wish they were taking classes at FAU right now. Even a “mini” concert from Joel marks FAU’s biggest booking in years—maybe since sitting President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke at its dedication ceremony—and it’s a major boon for the university and Boca Raton itself.
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