Billy Joel Honors Allman Brothers Band & Other Georgia Acts In Atlanta

This past Friday night Billy Joel became the first artist to perform at Atlanta’s SunTrust Park. Billy and his band played over 30 tunes during the two-plus hour concert and honored a number of acts associated with Georgia by performing snippets of their songs.

Early in the concert Joel teased the appropriate “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” at the new home of the Atlanta Braves. Billy is known to play snippets of songs by other artists during his shows and on Saturday he led his band through a large swath of “Midnight Rider” by the Allman Brothers Band. He also performed James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” as well as “Georgia On My Mind” and “Midnight Train To Georgia.” There was no lack of hits throughout the night with “Pressure,” “Allentown,” “New York State Of Mind,” “We Didn’t Start The Fire” and “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” among those played in Atlanta.

Here’s the first video clip of “Midnight Rider” to surface thanks to Scott Sykes: