Billy Joel says concerts ‘damaged my brain nerves’ when he performed live

More than a year after announcing that he had the brain disease normal pressure hydrocephalus and was taking an indefinite leave of absence, Billy Joel provided details about his recovery and explained why he still hasn’t booked any concerts.

“The doctors told me that because of my job, which is playing rock ‘n’ roll music very loudly, every time I performed I would get something like a concussion,” he said in a new interview with SiriusXM’s Billy Joel Channel. “It damaged my brain nerves and I could lose more brain cells the more performances I did, and I realized that meant I shouldn’t do this right now. I need to improve. They don’t want me to worry too much.”

Joel last played a full show on February 22, 2025 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Towards the very end of the performance, he fell while singing “It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me.” He played it off as a joke, but it was actually the result of NPH. Three months later, he announced his diagnosis publicly and canceled all his appearances.

“This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, resulting in hearing, vision and balance problems,” Joel’s team said in a statement. “Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy as directed by his doctor and has been advised to refrain from exercising during this recovery period.”

In a new interview with SiriusXM, Joel revealed that he initially decided against surgically implanting a shunt into his skull to remove excess fluid, considering it too extreme a measure. “But then I read about it and realized it could help improve your balance and memory,” he said. “You know, I don’t want to lose my marbles. It’s hard to tell what age and what condition, so I agreed to get a shunt and I had surgery and they implanted a shunt in my brain and it really made things better. My memory got better, my balance got a little better, my ability to function got better.”

His only live performance since his diagnosis was made public was on January 2, when he made the impromptu decision to take the stage with Billy Joel tribute band Turnstiles at a concert in Wellington, Florida. He joined them on “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “Big Shot”.

Two months later, he sat in the audience at a Carnegie Hall tribute show in his honor and watched artists such as Rob Thomas, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Rufus Wainwright perform his music, backed by his longtime touring band. But he did not go on stage himself.

At this point, it’s unclear whether he’ll ever feel able to play concerts. But he doesn’t want his fans to worry. “I know people have heard, ‘Oh, he has a brain disease,’ and I’m fine,” he said on SiriusXM. “I just want people to know, don’t worry about me. I’m not going anywhere. I’m here. I’m still here.”

From Rolling Stone USA.