Billy Joel cancels all concerts after revealing brain disorder diagnosis

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Billy Joel is cancelling all of his upcoming live performances — including 2026 date at Toronto’s Rogers Centre — after being diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, NPH is is a brain disorder in which excess fluid accumulates in the brain’s ventricles, causing thinking and reasoning problems, difficulty walking, and loss of bladder control.

Joel, who recently turned 76, announced in March he was postponing all of his upcoming shows due to “a medical condition.”

On Friday, the six-time Grammy winner said in a social media statement that he is suffering from NPH and the condition has worsened after recent live shows, “leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance.”

Joel has a care plan in place, and is hopeful he’ll be able to perform again, but he has been told by his doctors that he needs to “refrain from performing during this recovery period.”

“Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health,” his statement read. “He is grateful for the support from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage.”

Joel added, “I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience and thank you for understanding.”

After announcing in March he was postponing shows in Toronto, Detroit, Syracuse, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, Charlotte and the U.K., Joel was set to return to the stage in July.

The father of three sparked concern in February when he took a tumble during a concert in Connecticut while performing his 1980 classic It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.

On TikTok, some fans worried that the musician had hurt himself.

“That fall at the end had me worried. I saw him a couple years ago and he’s still got it.. sounds great and he’s having a great time…maybe just stay on your two feet, Billy,” one person wrote, with another adding, “Dangerous fall being 75.”

But Joel bounced back up and continued on with the remainder of his show.

Earlier this month, Joel’s wife Alexis Roderick said her husband was “doing well.”

“It’s funny, I was just having this conversation the other day. He’s going to be 76. And I don’t think of him that way. People don’t think of him in that way, but he is. And he’s been doing this job nonstop for 15 years — just this recent run,” she said in an interview with Fox News.

“With the exception of COVID, he’s been working every two weeks for 15-plus years,” continued Roderick, who revealed her own battle with endometriosis. “And it’s a lot. At 75, 76, there comes a time where you can’t always plan out everything you need to do a year and a half in advance, you know? And that’s how long these schedules are. That’s when you’re booking things. You’re booking it that long prior.”

Going forward, she said Joel’s “health has to take priority, and things have to get postponed.”

“But really, in the grand scheme of things, he’s a healthy person, and he’s well and working on himself, trying to get better and do what he has to do medically. So it’s important, you know, we need him around so he has to do what he has to do. I had to do what I had to do. Now he has to do what he has to do.”

Joel’s upcoming trek included 17 shows in stadiums across North America and England, including a date at Rogers Centre next March (which was the rescheduled concert from this past March). All tickets will automatically be refunded to the original purchaser. 

mdaniell@postmedia.com

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