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Music|Billy Joel Announces Brain Disorder and Cancels All Concerts
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/arts/music/billy-joel-brain-disorder-nph.html
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Joel said he had normal pressure hydrocephalus, which has led to “problems with hearing, vision and balance.”
May 23, 2025Updated 1:16 p.m. ET
Billy Joel, the arena-filling Everyman singer-songwriter, has canceled all of his upcoming concerts, including a large-scale tour scheduled for this year and next, because of a brain disorder known as normal pressure hydrocephalus, he announced in a statement on Friday.
“This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance,” said the statement, which was posted to the singer’s social media accounts. “Under his doctor’s instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period.”
Normal pressure hydrocephalus, or N.P.H., consists of a buildup of spinal fluid in the brain, which causes pressure on nerves that control various parts of the body.
In his statement, Joel, 76, added, “I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for your understanding.” A representative for Joel declined to comment further.
A mainstream music mainstay since the early 1970s, Joel is best known for songs like “Piano Man,” “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,” “She’s Always a Woman” and “Big Shot” — just a sampling of the crowd-pleasing singalongs in his catalog, which included 43 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Although last year he released his first new pop song in nearly two decades, “Turn the Lights Back On,” Joel has been better known as a mainstay of the live music landscape. He completed a decade-long residency — more than 100 shows — at Madison Square Garden in July, with overall attendance nearing two million people and a gross of more than $260 million.
