The Storm Front Tour was a 1989–1991

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

by singer-songwriter

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

. This tour was the first tour by Joel in two years.

Background

The recording of the album, which commenced in 1988, coincided with major changes in Joel's career and inaugurated a period of serious upheaval in his business affairs. In August 1989, just before the '' Storm Front'' album was released, Joel dismissed his manager (and former brother-in-law) Frank Weber after an audit revealed major discrepancies in Weber's accounting. Joel subsequently sued Weber for US$90 million, claiming fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. Because of this, Joel was in a huge financial gap, and to make the money back Joel toured extensively for a year and a half. The album's producer Mick Jones gave Joel the idea of using different musicians on the album. Because of this, this tour marked a lot of changes with the band. Gone were

Doug Stegmeyer Douglas Alan Stegmeyer (December 23, 1951 – August 25, 1995) was an American musician who was best known as a bassist and back-up vocalist for Billy Joel. Stegmeyer also performed as bassist for Debbie Gibson and Hall & Oates. Life and car ...

on bass guitar,

Russell Javors Russell Javors (born June 13, 1952) is an American rock guitarist. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist for Billy Joel from 1976 to 1989. Career At age 15, Javors was performing songs with his childhood friend Liberty DeVitto. He met Doug Stegm ...

on rhythm guitar, David Lebolt on keyboards, and Peter Hewlett and George Simms on backing vocals. They were replaced by Schuyler Deale on bass guitar,

Mindy Jostyn Mindy Jostyn (June 5, 1956 – March 10, 2005) was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist. Jostyn was born in Long Island City and grew up in San Jose, California and Wellesley, Massachusetts. When she was eleven years old she founded her ...

on violin and guitar (who was replaced with Tommy Byrnes on rhythm guitar partway through the tour), Jeff Jacobs on keyboards and

Crystal Taliefero Crystal Taliefero-Pratt (née Taliefero, born 5 January 1963) is an American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Taliefero grew up with a musical family, performing rhythm and blues with her brother in the Chicago metropolitan area. During her ...

on percussion, saxophone, and guitar. Following a rehearsal gig at the Suffolk County Police Academy in

Westhampton, New York Westhampton is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,079 at the 2010 census. Westhampton is in the Administrative ...

on December 2, 1989, the tour kicked off in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

on December 6, 1989, and ended in

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

on March 24, 1991. The two concerts at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

on June 22 and 23, 1990 were professionally filmed for the video special '' Billy Joel: Live at Yankee Stadium'', which was released in late 1990 and given a limited theatrical release in October 2022.

Tour dates

Setlist

This setlist is from the June 22, 1990 show at

. It does not represent all the dates throughout the tour. # " Storm Front" # "

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

" # "

Prelude/Angry Young Man "Prelude/Angry Young Man" is a song written by Billy Joel which appeared as the sixth song on the album '' Turnstiles'' in 1976. Live versions have been released as the second track of '' КОНЦЕРТ'', the 11th track of the first disc of '' 2 ...

" # "

Take Me Out to the Ball Game "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 waltz song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game before writing the song. The song' ...

" # "

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 album '' The Stranger.'' It has been described as "a characteristic Joel observation on New York life". In 2021, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked it the 324th greatest song of ...

" # "

The Downeaster "Alexa" "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" is a song by Billy Joel from his eleventh studio album '' Storm Front'' (1989), released as the album's fourth single. It peaked at No. 57 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was included on Joel's '' Greatest Hits Vol. 3'' ...

" # " Goodnight Saigon" # " I Go to Extremes" # "

Pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...

" # " My Life" # "

An Innocent Man ''An Innocent Man'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 8, 1983. The concept album is a tribute to the American popular music of Joel's adolescent years with Joel paying homage to a number of di ...

" # " Shameless" # "

We Didn't Start the Fire "We Didn't Start the Fire" is a song written by American musician Billy Joel. The song was released as a single on September 18, 1989, and later released as part of Joel's album '' Storm Front'' on October 17, 1989. A list song, its fast-paced ...

" # " Shout" # "

Uptown Girl "Uptown Girl" is a song written and performed by American musician Billy Joel from his ninth studio album, '' An Innocent Man'' (1983), released in September 1983 as the album's second single. The lyrics describe a working-class "downtown man" ...

" # " It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" # "

You May Be Right "You May Be Right" is a song written and performed by rock singer Billy Joel, released as a single and the opening track from his 1980 album '' Glass Houses''. The single reached No. 7 on the US charts and No. 6 in Canada. It failed to chart, ho ...

" # " Only the Good Die Young" # "

Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) ...

" # " A Matter of Trust" # " Big Shot" # "

New York State of Mind "New York State of Mind" is a song written by Billy Joel that is featured on his fourth studio album, '' Turnstiles'' (1976). Although it was never released as a single, it has become a fan favorite and a song that Joel plays regularly in concer ...

" # " Piano Man"

Personnel

– lead vocals, piano, keyboards, harmonica, rhythm guitar *

Mark Rivera Mark Rivera (born May 24, 1953) is an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, musical director, and corporate entertainment provider who is mostly known for his work with Billy Joel. In addition to playing soprano, alto, tenor, a ...

– saxophone, flute, clarinet, vocals, percussion, keyboards, rhythm guitar *Schuyler Deale – bass guitar, vocals *David Brown – lead guitar, vocals *

– violin, guitar (December 2, 1989 – March 17, 1990) *Tommy Byrnes – rhythm guitar (March 31, 1990 – March 24, 1991) *Jeff Jacobs – keyboards *

– percussion, saxophone, guitar. *

Liberty DeVitto Liberatori "Liberty" DeVitto (born August 8, 1950) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his work as a drummer for singer-songwriter Billy Joel's recording and touring band. He has been a session drummer on recordings of other artists ...

– drums, percussion

Notes

References

{{Billy Joel Billy Joel concert tours 1989 concert tours 1990 concert tours 1991 concert tours