Pianist and singer Billy Joel to perform seventh concert at Carrier Dome for different generations of concertgoers

This is an age where artists struggle to stay relevant and the audiences’ attention can fade as fast as a breakout artists’  hit single drops on the Billboard charts.  But some artists that have been around since the '70s can still draw large crowds to venues like the Carrier Dome and Madison Square Garden.  Billy Joel is one of those artists.  What is the difference between him and today’s infamous 'one hit wonders?'

It probably helps that you can’t walk into a dentist office, grocery store or any other small town errand stop without hearing the lyrics to Joel's "Piano Man:" “We’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got us feeling alright,” but it's more than that.

Billy Joel transcends generations. 

At father-daughter dances, elementary school girls jam out to "Only the Good Die Young" and high school history teachers can use "We Didn’t Start the Fire" to make the Cold War sound cool."New York State of Mind" could be the soundtrack for every movie scene that requires a forlorn stroll through the city mourning a lost love and every soccer mom who went to a Billy Joel concert in her teens looks back fondly on the days she was an "Uptown Girl."

Joel is performing his seventh concert at the Dome on Friday and Syracuse University students as well as community members are flocking to the event.  Because of that cross-generational aspect of Joel’s music, some students are going with their parents.

Sophomore Meghan Mistry will attend the concert with her father.

“Growing up I always listened to my dad blast Billy Joel on the speakers throughout the house as he’d work or on the weekends and him and my mom would sing along and when I heard that Billy Joel was coming to Syracuse, I felt like that was just an opportunity that was too good to be true, “ Mistry said.

She bought tickets for her father and herself for Christmas.

“I know he’s really excited and he’s been looking forward to it for a while,” Mistry said.

Billy Joel will perform Friday, March 20 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are still available online.