In 2025, Billy Joel revealed that he’d been diagnosed with a brain disorder called Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH), and would be canceling all of his upcoming tour dates as a result. Maybe, then, it’s a good omen for 2026 that on Friday, January 2nd, Joel surprised audiences at Florida’s Wellington Amphitheater by joining Billy Joel cover band Turnstiles on stage for a two-song set.
Turnstiles was playing as part of a 30th anniversary celebration for the Village of Wellington, which is close to where Joel owns property in Florida. Joel took the stage with the help of a cane, the Palm Beach Post reports, joking that “I wasn’t planning on working tonight.” He then performed “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “Big Shot” with the band, while his daughters Della and Remy danced on stage.
Despite it requiring a step back from performing, Joel said last summer that his NPH diagnosis “sounds a lot worse than what I’m feeling,” adding that while not much is known about his condition, “I’m doing my best to work with it and to recover from it.”
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Prior to Friday, Joel’s last live performance was in February 2025, though he remained in the public eye thanks to the epic-length HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, which revealed a bunch of his secrets.
