Billy Joel Is Coming To Target Center
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Piano Man is coming to Target Center next spring for his first solo show at the arena in 15 years.
The announcement came Thursday morning at a press conference after Target Center posted a photo to social media hinting at who the performer would be. The image showed Times Square with a billboard reading, "Happy 1999."
Target had said there would be a major artist coming to town prior to tweeting the picture, the one, and only, clue.
The picture had many guessing the big announcement would be for Minnesota-native Prince. Others said it'd be U2, the popular band from Dublin that references the year 1999.
Some, like WCCO-TV's Jason Matheson and Jamie Yuccas, guessed the correct answer.
Journalists at the press conference began to suspect it was Billy Joel after they saw a row of eclair donuts shaped like a piano keyboard.
As for the picture of Times Square, perhaps it referred to the song "New York State of Mind." Also, 1999 was the year Billy Joel was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and that was the last time he played a solo show at Target Center.
But whether you're an "Uptown Girl" or a "Piano Man," he's got something for all of his fans.
The first time Billy Joel played at Target Center was in 1990. He wowed fans in four sold out shows.
It helped put Target Center on the map in its opening year.
"I think Billy Joel's got soul. Like he plays the piano, he sings, he's got a lot of songs that everybody loves," Ricky Satterness, of Sartell, said.
Joel's last solo performance at Target Center was in 1999.
Target Center officials have been working on his 2015 return for the last year.
"We'll take anything that can sell seats. But when you can get an icon, a hall of fame icon, that can sell, that is this good for the building and for the greater good of the Twin Cities, it was a no brainer," Vice President and General Manager of the Target Center, Steve Mattson, said.
"I just like him," Terry Pennig said. "He's a performer."
Seventy-two-year-old Terry Pennig has been listening to Joel's music for 30 years.
He says he's always wanted to see him perform live.
"We tried to get concerts and tickets and can't seem to get them," Pennig said.
Most of the people WCCO talked to were thrilled about the announcement, but others had hoped for another performer.
For Joel's fans, they may need to do a little last minute Christmas shopping for loved ones when tickets go on sale next week.
The Piano Man is slated to perform at Target Center on Saturday, May 16. Tickets go on sale on at 10 a.m., Friday, Dec. 19. They can be purchased at the Target Center box office, online at AXS.com or by calling 1-888-9-AXS-TIX.
The concert will be the 65-year-old musician's 10th performance at the venue, officials say. He's sold more than 171,000 tickets at the arena to date.
