Billy Joel joins tribute band onstage, gives first live performance since brain condition diagnosis

Imagine playing in a tribute band, and the artist whose music you’re paying tribute to joins you onstage. That’s what happened to the Billy Joel tribute band Turnstiles Friday.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Billy, who owns a home in the Palm Beach area, attended a Turnstiles concert at an amphitheater in Wellington, Florida, and ended up joining them for two songs. He took the stage wearing a jacket and a black knit cap, walking with the help of a cane.

As he sat at the piano, he laughed, “I wasn’t planning on working tonight,” before playing “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “Big Shot.” His two youngest daughters — Della, 10, and Remy, 8 — sang and danced alongside him onstage.

The show marked the Piano Man’s first live appearance since he’d announced in May that he’d been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain condition that can cause balance, vision and hearing problems. At the time, a statement noted that he was receiving “specific physical therapy.” 

As a result of the diagnosis, Billy was forced to cancel all his scheduled performances, as well as a planned appearance at the New York City premiere of the HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes.

In a statement to People in July, Billy reassured fans, “I know a lot of people are worried about me and my health, but I’m okay. What I have is something very few people know about, including me, no matter how much you try to research it. I’m doing my best to work with it and to recover from it.”

He added, “I just wanted to let people know, don’t worry about me being deathly ill or anything.”

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