Billy Joel and Rod Stewart, two iconic musicians of their respective fields, will make an historic concert debut together at Browns Stadium on September 13th – marking the first time these Hall-of-Famers will ever appear together! Mayor Bibb expressed delight that both artists agreed to make Cleveland their stage for this momentous performance at an announcement news conference held Thursday by LiveNation at Browns Stadium where officials including Haslam Sports Group partner Whitney Johnson, Destination Cleveland President/CEO David Gilbert and Live Nation SVP Marketing and Sponsorship Sale Barry Gabel made this announcement at Browns Stadium along with LiveNation SVP Marketing/Sponsorship Sale Barry Gabel made this announcement at this historic stadium!
This concert is expected to draw in thousands of fans and increase tourism throughout Cleveland. “Today is an incredible day for Cleveland,” stated Gilbert. “We have had much success bringing big shows into town; this will certainly be one of them!”
Stewart was honored with induction into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as both an individual artist, in 1994, and with The Faces band in 2012. Additionally, Stewart holds a best-selling artist status, selling over 160 million albums worldwide and he was even bestowed a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as being named a Grammy Legend in 2014.
Both performers have added several new songs to their sets lists. Joel recently released “Turn the Lights Back On,” his first original release since 16 years. Stewart will release her album Swing Fever on Feb 23 in collaboration with pianist Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.
LiveNation’s Gabel acknowledges that booking concerts is a complex task that involves many elements; including available dates, venue space, expenses for shows and the history of bands/artists involved. Although 3News reported that major acts like Taylor Swift and Beyonce rarely visit Cleveland, Gabel says Cleveland’s growing economy has helped bring acts to town.
Tickets for Joel’s Sept. 13 concert on LiveNation go on sale to the general public starting Friday morning at 10 a.m. Citi presales will run Monday through January 30, and tickets begin at $75 for this show. Both performers have performed at Madison Square Garden before, with Joel taking up a monthly residency there in 2014. 3News reached out to Stewart but did not get an immediate reply in time to include this story here; stay tuned for updates about this and other upcoming events in Cleveland!