Music News

Billy Joel performed live at Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday evening (July 9). As he often does, the “Piano Man” was joined by a rock legend on stage. As timing would have it, the members of Def Leppard were in town, since Sunday night (July 10), Def Leppard’s tour with Motley Crue, Poison and Joan Jett rolled through Detroit.

Joel is friends with Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott, and he brought Elliot on the stage during the concert. They performed the Def Leppard staple “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” to the delight of the crowd. Watch fan-filmed footage of the performance below.

Joel, 73, went on to entertain the crowd with a bevy of his greatest hits, such as “Keeping the Faith,” “Allentown,” “Piano Man,” “Movin’ Out,” “She’s Always A Woman,” Just The Way You Are,” “Innocent Man” and many more. The encore offered “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” “Uptown Girl,” “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me,” “Big Shot” and “You May Be Right.”

 

Billy Joel: 8 Great MSG Residency Cameos

  • Christie Brinkley

    Joel’s August 2014 residency show saw him dust off “Uptown Girl,” which, of course, is about his ex-wife Brinkley, but the audience blew up once they saw the supermodel on the jumbotron in attendance.

  • Jimmy Fallon

    The Tonight Show host joined Joel at his 25 residency gig in January 2016, where he did his best Mick Jagger impersonation for a performance of “Start Me Up.”  It’s equal parts ridiculous and fun.

  • Brian Johnson

    Considering Johnson’s somewhat recent retirement from the stage, this performance of “You Shook Me All Night Long” from Joel’s December 2014 residency show is all the more poignant.

  • John Mellencamp

    Indiana’s favorite son made his second guest appearance during Joel’s residency at the March 2017 show.  This time around, Mellencamp and Joel dueted on “Authority Song” to a raucous crowd.

  • Foreigner’s Lou Gramm and Mick Jones

    During Joel’s January 2018 MSG show, Gramm and Jones surprised the capacity crowd and performed two of their biggest hits, “Urgent” and “Cold As Ice.”

  • Bruce Springsteen

    For Joel’s 100th show ever at MSG, The Boss joined The Piano Man on stage performed “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and “Born To Run”

  • John Fogerty

    John Fogerty joined Joel for two songs during his March 2019 MSG gig: Creedence Clearwater Revival classics “Up Around The Bend” and “Fortunate Son.”

  • Olivia Rodrigo

    In August 2022, pop star Olivia Rodrigo joined Joel on stage at MSG.

    Joel gave Rodrigo quite the introduction naming off her many accolades and adding, “I like her music and so do my kids.” Rodrigo returned the favor before they performed her song “Deja Vu,” which name-checks the Piano Man in the lyrics. Following “Deja Vu,” Joel and Rodrigo then performed “Uptown Girl,” which Joel noted was requested by Rodrigo.

 

Anne Erickson's love for music drew her into radio. She started on the airwaves shortly after graduating from MSU. Anne has a passion for rock and metal, and she also fronts the band Upon Wings. Email Anne at erickson@WRIF.com, follow her on Instagram at @EricksonAnne and tweet at her @AnneErickson! Anne covers the Detroit, Philadelphia and Las Vegas markets and beyond.

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