Pop great Billy Joel has canceled a series of global tour dates after being diagnosed with a brain condition that worsened because of recent performances.
“Billy Joel has announced that he will be canceling all scheduled concerts following a recent diagnosis of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH),” reads a statement on the Piano Man’s website.
The condition arises if cerebrospinal fluid cannot properly flow throughout the brain and spinal cord, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The excess fluid and pressure can cause brain damage.
The institution says on its website that NPH is rare but can cause cognitive impairment, including memory problems, as well as trouble walking.
Joel’s statement says, “This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance.”
Prompt treatment can alleviate the condition if diagnosed early.
Joel’s scrapped dates include several in Britain, as well as a packed schedule crisscrossing the United States from July 2025 up until July 2026 when he was due to round off his ambitious string of dates in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The “We Didn’t Start the Fire” legend, 76, wrote, “I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for understanding.”
We can't do this work alone.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can't do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.
— Stav Levaton, military reporter
Yes, I'll join
Yes, I'll join
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Friday, May 23, 2025
