Why I find it weird Billy Joel will play NJ with Stevie Nicks 

When Billy Joel used to tour with Elton John, it made sense to me. Sure, Joel was more of a pop artist and not in the classic rock vein, and John was more in that vein, yet so unusual with stage antics you could almost forget it.

But they were both pianomen. They were such good pianomen that I could always tell their styles and that it was them playing, even if I was blindfolded. The pianos made sense of it all, not to mention Elton John’s '80s music moving into more pop than rock. I saw them on tour together, and it was a great time.

After Billy Joel wrapped up his 10-year Madison Square Garden residency, he has now announced a tour paired with Stevie Nicks. The show makes a stop in East Rutherford at MetLife on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025.

It doesn’t feel like it works. Is it just me?

Yeah, Billy has jammed with all kinds of people during his many MSG shows. Among them are Patty Smyth and Olivia Rodrigo. But these were only one or two quick songs. A quick special guest and a committed tour are very different things.

Stevie Nicks is the rock goddess of Fleetwood Mac. She’s the ethereal gypsy, classic rock’s royal princess who just might slip some fairy dust in your drink.

Billy Joel is the pop-rock guy who wrote hits, not anthems. The guy who you could hear his songs working in musicals and did just that.

I like them both. And I’m not putting down Joel’s music. It was the first concert I saw in my teens. They’re just…different.

It should be interesting to see the way it works. I’m sure they wouldn’t be doing it at this stage of their careers if they didn’t have faith in each other. So they’ll probably prove me wrong for not seeing it.

Then again, I was right about that Christie Brinkley mismatch. But that was a whole other thing.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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