The Piano Man’s Agent: IAG Chairman Dennis Arfa On Billy Joel’s Record-Setting MSG Run

On July 25, Billy Joel performed the final show of his historic 10-year residency at Madison Square Garden marking the 104th show of his extraordinary run at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.” This is “the most amazing gig we’ve ever done ever,” Joel, 75, told the Garden crowd as he looked back at the scope of his unprecedented accomplishment. It also marked a record-setting 150th performance at New York’s MSG for Joel dating back to Dec. 14, 1978, when he was just 29 years old.

The run, which sold close to 2 million tickets and grossed more than $260 million, will stand as one of the live industry’s most innovative and towering achievements and has already impacted the industry with a growing list of artists doing protracted residencies at big buildings (see Harry Styles, Madonna, U2 and others).

Dennis Arfa, Joel’s long-time agent and chairman of Independent Artist Group’s Music Division, has been with Billy every step of the way. The duo first met in the late ’60s at a venue in Long Island called The Eye when Arfa was then managing an act called The Salvation Navy who opened for Joel’s then band The Hassles. To his credit and creativity, Arfa conceived of the MSG arena residency concept in the wake of Joel’s farewell to Shea Stadium in 2008 which included special guests Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, John Mayer, Steven Tyler, Roger Daltrey and John Mellencamp.

That show helped spark an idea that would transform the concept of a residency while stimulating New York City’s economy and adding to its cultural fabric as Joel’s mon5hly show became a must-see destination and ritual for locals and tourists alike. Here, a range of special guests would regularly appear including Bruce Springsteen (for his 100th show in 2018, which was turned into a CBS Special), Elvis Costel- lo, Olivia Rodrigo, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Itzhak Perlman, Steve Miller, Paul Simon and Miley Cyrus, Trey Anastasio, Chick Corea, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, John Fogerty and Kevin James. The final play featured cameos by “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon and Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose.

Pollstar caught up with Arfa to find out more about Joel’s historic residency, how it’s impacted the industry, why it’s not in his DNA to rest on his laurels and what lies ahead.

Pollstar: So how was your last Thursday (July 25)?
Dennis Arfa: My last Thursday was very exciting and the ultimate culmination of what we had built. We played Madison Square Garden for 10 years and it was a long and a very successful goodbye. The 100th really emphasized the residency and the 150th was the crowning achievement.

Did you think it would go on for 10 years and over 100 shows?
If I was to say to you that I knew that this is where we would go, I’d be a liar. All I did was go one at a time — and that was my goal. In the beginning, I said, “If we get to 24, I am going to be out of my mind.” And then we got 24. And then magazines like Forbes predicted we’ll get to 36, but it just kept going. There were times when we would look and go, “Maybe not.” And then it took on a life of its own. It took a great team. The AEG people who did the marketing and the Madison Square Garden team, led by Josephine (Vacarello) did an amazing job.

Where do you put this accomplishment in your own career and what do you think it does for the industry?
First of all, let me say this about the word agent: Agent has a lot of connotations to it and a lot of limitations. I think to be a great agent you also have to have an ability to be a great promoter and have vision.

As for what this accomplishment means, it hasn’t really sunk in yet. To be honest, we live in an industry of “next” and I’m always thinking about next. When you sell out the 44th show, you don’t sit there and go, “Wow, what I just did was amazing.” You think about the 45th show and how do WE get there. As much as I recognize it’s an amazing achievement what Billy’s accomplished, I’m too focused on what I have to do next and what the right move is.

Did the show change over the 10 years?
If you look back at the set list, some things changed. Songs changed. Guests changed. Audiences were different. You never knew what your audience was like. I’m somebody who’s always judging the volume of the audience as a testament to how good the show is. There’s no way you’re going to have a show without a “Piano Man,” “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” or “Uptown Girl.” They were mainstays; but through the years he took different tracks from different records and incorporated them into the set — some lived; some died. Then of course he came out with a new song, “Turn The Lights Back On,” which he introduced this year and was an amazing moment.

MSG is one of the busiest arenas in the country with three sports tenants, concerts and events — was it hard scheduling?
They were very accommodating at The Garden with Randy (Fibiger) and Josephine from the Garden and [previously] Laurie Jacoby. They were amazing at sorting it out. It takes a village. We had a lot of people who helped build this. It took Jim Dolan’s support, many on Billy’s team, but the Garden people were extremely helpful.

Last June, when you were deciding this is the last one, how did you come to the decision?
Madison Square Garden for most acts is the highlight of their tour and for many it’s the highlight of their career. It started to feel like just another show, “Oh, Billy’s at the Garden” and that’s not what it’s supposed to be. So it was time.

Was it kind of a bittersweet now that every month you won’t see Billy, his family, his band, his team and all the other people you worked with for such a long time?
You know, we retired from a run at a venue, not from doing shows. We got six stadium shows coming up. We’re going to Cardiff, Wales next Friday. 60,000. Never played there. We’re playing Principality Stadium. And then we play Cleveland Browns Stadium with Rod Stewart in September and then continue with Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, the Alamodome in San Antonio with Sting. So the party continues. I’ll tell you, one of the most amazing accomplishments to me is that at 65 years old Billy Joel evolved into a stadium act around the world.

What do you think you’ll miss most about not doing the residency?
The pastrami sandwich backstage. I’m not sentimental.
I’m not a guy who sits and tells old war stories. I’m too much into planning what will happen next and the future opportunities.

So what’s next after these stadium plays?
We’re entertaining all kinds of ideas and sorting it out. When we closed Shea Stadium it was another euphoric moment. And how do you follow that? Well, this is what we did. It looked like nothing could follow that. So I don’t know, we’re still entertaining thoughts on how we proceed from here, but we’re looking forward to the future and being creative.