In the 10 months since Billy Joel retired from touring after learning he’d been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), his daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, reports that he’s handling it all well. “He’s doing physical therapy regularly, and he’s doing great,” she recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “He’s lost weight as he’s on his diet. I’m so proud of him. He’s such a trooper, so resilient and committed to being healthy and proactive. He’s a fighter.”
At his last full performance in February 2025, he collapsed onstage. “When I saw the footage, I was crying. But then I went with him to the doctors, and we’re on top of everything,” Alexa Ray told THR. “I just tell him to stay healthy.”
In May 2025, Joel canceled the remaining stadium dates he had booked for the year. The diagnosis had affected the artist’s hearing, vision, and balance, making performing difficult. In its definition of NPH, the Cleveland Clinic likened the condition’s symptoms to those of dementia but said that, unlike dementia, the condition can be reversed. His doctor instructed him to get off the road and into physical therapy until he felt well enough to perform again. “I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience and thank you for understanding,” Joel said in a statement.
Two months later, Joel discussed his condition with talk-show host and podcaster Bill Maher. “I feel fine,” he said, but noted, “My balance sucks. It’s like being on a boat.”
Joel returned again to the stage in January to sing two songs with the Turnstiles, a Billy Joel cover band in Wellington, Florida. He sang “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “Big Shot” with the group. “I wasn’t planning on working tonight,” Joel told the crowd.
“Once a performer, always a performer!” Alexa Ray commented to THR. “But health comes first. I said, ‘If you’re going to perform again, please stay seated at the piano. No throwing the microphone stand around!’”
Joel did not perform Thursday night at New York’s Carnegie Hall, where his legacy was celebrated by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Natalie Merchant, Rufus Wainwright, and Alexa Ray Joel, among others, but Alexa Ray said she got Joel to put it on his calendar, so he’d attend. Rolling Stone spotted him in the audience.
The concert’s organizer, Michael Dorf, recently told Rolling Stone that the idea for honoring Joel came from watching the HBO docuseries And So It Goes. “I reached out, and they immediately responded positively,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of love for Billy, and a desire to hear his music. The fact that it is his band, that’s exciting for people. We sold out without a single artist mentioned who’s performing, and we got a great lineup, as people trusted.”
