Acclaimed singer-songwriter Billy Joel has cancelled all of his upcoming shows through 2026 as he deals with a health issue. According to a statement posted on his Instagram account, Joel was recently diagnosed with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH), a form of “water on the brain,” which is characterized by increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure inside the head. The resulting compression of surrounding brain tissue can lead to neurological complications, which in Joel’s case include “problems with hearing, vision and balance,” according to the Instagram post.
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Doctors have advised Joel to refrain from performing during his recovery period. “I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for your understanding,” Joel told his fans in the statement. NPH is rare, affecting around 3% of seniors, being found in both men and women at roughly equal rates.
Billy Joel fell on stage during a performance at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut in February 2025. The fall happened when he spun his microphone stand and lost his balance, landing on his side. Despite the incident, he continued the show as planned.
However, after he was diagnosed with NPH shortly after, he postponed his shows for four months after undergoing surgery and physical therapy. Although the Instagram post announcing that development on March 11 did not specify what medical condition was at issue, it is believed to have been related to the NPH.
The upcoming canceled shows include co-billings with rock’n’roll’s greats Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, and Sting. The “Piano Man” was slated to perform in venues all across the United States, as well as Canada, England, and Scotland through July of next year, seventeen shows in all.
In a career spanning over five decades, Billy Joel has earned renown as one of the music world’s most iconic and prolific songwriters. After a disappointing debut with the album “Cold Spring Harbor” in 1971 (named after his hometown on Long Island), he was eventually signed to Columbia Records in 1972, producing the iconic album “Piano Man” the following year, propelling him to stardom. He would win his first Grammys for Album and Song of the Year for “Just the Way You Are” in 1978, with three more wins over the next two years and 23 more nominations over the following decades. He has also burnished a reputation as one of the industry’s busiest performers as well, having completed a monthly residence at Madison Square Garden that went on for more than a decade, earning a permanent banner in the world-famous venue for his record 150 performances there.
