For years now, the New York promoter Michael Dorf has been putting together all-star benefit Music Of concerts at Carnegie Hall. Earlier this year, for instance, Patti Smith performed at her own tribute show alongside Bruce Springsteen, Michael Stipe, and Karen O, among many others. In March, a very different New York icon will get a similar salute. Dorf’s company announced plans for a Billy Joel tribute concert last month, and now they’ve unveiled its lineup.
The Music Of Billy Joel concert goes down Mar. 12 at Carnegie Hall, and its lineup includes Rufus Wainwright, the War And Treaty, Joy Oladokun, Bettye LaVette, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tanya Tucker, Gavin DeGraw, Matt Nathanson, Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas, O.A.R.’s Marc Roberge, and Train’s Pat Monahan. Sounds great, right? That’s what you’ve always wanted to do — go see the guy from Train sing a Billy Joel song. No, it’s true, you told me, I remember. You think I’d make something like that up? You were pretty drunk when you said it, but I could tell you were sincere. You had tears in your eyes and everything. You said it was your dream.
Billy Joel has not been announced as one of the guests at his own tribute show, but the evening’s house band is Joel’s own backing band: David Rosenthal, Mark Rivera, Crystal Taliefero, Tommy Byrnes, Andy Cichon, Chuck Burgi, Carl Fischer, and Mike Delguidice. Also, Joel’s daughter Alexa Ray Joel is among the artists on the lineup. With all that in mind, it doesn’t seem unlikely that Joel himself will show up. You can get yourself a VIP ticket for the low, low price of $35,000 here.
