Billy Joel 2026 Carnegie Hall Tribute Lineup To Feature Rob Thomas, Rufus Wainwright, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tanya Tucker & More

Billy Joel will be feted at New York’s Carnegie Hall on March 12 where an all-star group of performers will play his songs to benefit music programs for kids. Among the guest vocalists who will be joined by Joel’s live band are: Matchbox20 singer/songwriter Rob Thomas, Joel’s daughter singer Alexa Ray Joel, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Train’s Pat Monahan, Gavin DeGraw, Bettye Lavette, Matt Nathanson, Joy Oladokun, Tanya Tucker, War & Treaty and Rufus Wainwright, with more artists to be announced soon.

The show is latest gig from promoter Michael Dorf in support of his Music Of benefit series that has raised more than $2 million for music education programs in New York over the past twenty years. Previous honorees in the series have included Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Patti Smith, Prince, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, R.E.M. and more.

General admission tickets for the Joel event have already sold out, but VIP packages are still available here.

Joel is on a break from touring while he recovers from the neurological condition normal pressure hydrocephalus, which earlier this year caused the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer to cancel all of his planned 2025 shows due to the diagnosis. In an interview with Bill Maher in July, Joel said that he was feeling okay at the time, but cautioned, “it’s not fixed… it’s still being worked on.”

Seated at a piano, Joel told Maher that he felt “fine,” but admitted that, “My balance sucks. It’s like being on a boat. [My condition] used to be called ‘water on the brain.’ Now it’s called normal pressure hydrocephalus.”