Billy Joel attends star-studded charity concert in his honor at Carnegie Hall

Billy Joel sold out Carnegie Hall in Manhattan on Thursday night — except he wasn’t onstage. He was seated in the audience for "The Music of Billy Joel," a star-studded charity event featuring 20 acts performing songs from his catalog and backed by Joel's touring band. One hundred percent of net proceeds from the event will go to music education for underserved youth programs in New York City and beyond.

It was a rare public appearance for Joel, who announced in May that he had been diagnosed with the brain disorder normal pressure hydrocephalus and needed to cancel all his upcoming performances. Since then, he has been keeping a relatively low profile while undergoing physical therapy in Florida.

Fans kept turning their heads and snapping pictures of Joel, who sat in the second tier on the left side of the stage.

Artists including Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, Pat Monahan of Train, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Natalie Merchant, Rufus Wainwright, Gavin DeGraw, Wyclef Jean, Matt Nathanson, Joel’s daughter Alexa Ray and several others lent their talents to the show, held in the Stern Auditorium, for a two and a half hour performance.

Show producer/owner of City Winery Michael Dorf told the crowd: "A bottle of red, a bottle of white. How about a bottle of rosé instead? It’s pretty obvious why I love Billy Joel. We are here to celebrate the Piano Man. With 160 million albums sold worldwide, his music has entered the collective unconscious of all our souls."

The evening began with a triple shot from 1977’s diamond-selling "The Stranger." English singer-songwriter Yola opened the show with a sassy version of "Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)," followed by Thomas’ touching rendition of fan favorite "Vienna." Monahan continued the balladry with "She’s Always a Woman."

Joel’s keyboardist-organist David Rosenthal served as musical director. Also working with Rosenthal Thursday were his fellow band mates: saxophonist Mark Rivera, percussionist Crystal Taliefero, guitarist Tommy Byrnes, bassist Andy Cichon, drummer Chuck Burgi and trumpeter-trombonist-saxophonist Carl Fischer with guest pianist Dan Orlando. Missing was vocalist-guitarist Michael DelGuidice, of Miller Place, who had a conflicting gig.

The audience was still with awe as Carpenter delivered a haunting performance of Joel’s favorite song, “And So It Goes.” Meanwhile Nathanson did an acoustic version of “I Go to Extremes” then earned a standing ovation for his passionate performance of “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” while unveiling his “Shut Up I’m Listening to Billy Joel” t-shirt.

After Indiana singer Jon McLaughlin pulled off “Everybody Loves You Now” from Joel’s 1971 debut album, “Cold Spring Harbor,” Alexa Ray got behind the mic to take on “This Night,” a rare album track from her father’s 1983 multi-platinum album, “An Innocent Man,” done cabaret-style in an elegant black dress and long white gloves.

“Dad, I want to dedicate this song to you, my music hero…you and Beethoven,” she said. “I also want to dedicate this to my mother [model Christie Brinkley], who is my golden muse.”

Wainwright aptly followed her performance with the song Joel wrote for his oldest daughter, “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel).”

Powerful soul singer Ledisi daringly sang Joel’s latest songwriting creation his 2024 single, “Turn the Lights Back On.” A surprising pairing of O.A.R. lead singer Mark Roberge and violinist Itzhak Perlman, who arrived on a scooter, brought the house down with “The Downeaster Alexa.” Perlman revealed it was secretly him on the original recording and said, “Thank you Billy for the opportunity!”

Bettye Lavette put a bluesy emotional spin on “She’s Got a Way” and flipped the lyrics to “He’s Got a Way” accompanied by Rosenthal on piano. Staying put at the keys, Rosenthal turned a cappella song, “The Longest Time” into a piano instrumental at Joel’s request due to its classical structure.

Halfway through the show Todd Kamelhar of the Joel Foundation addressed the crowd and acknowledged Joel, who waved to his fans when the spotlight hit him. This caused the  crowd to get rowdy chanting, “LET’S GO BILLY! LET’S GO BILLY!”

Jean, formerly of The Fugees, brought some swagger to the second half of the show on “My Life” with the help of seven student musicians dubbed Music Will. Additionally, Chicago-based singer Neal Francis chose “Stiletto” adding a ‘70s funky touch while singing and playing piano.

In an interesting twist, jazz-pop singer Sammy Rae from Brooklyn arrived center stage with nothing but a ukulele to give “The River of Dreams” a new vibe. Rae kept Joel’s band on its toes by making them play a deep cut, “Get It Right the First Time” from “The Stranger.”

Merchant approached “Allentown” with sincerity noting she felt connected to the song coming from a rust belt town. “I felt like he was singing about us,” she noted.

Joel’s band took over for the epic, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” with Orlando on vocals.

A burst of energy stemmed from R&B singer Curtis Harding’s “Uptown Girl” and DeGraw’s “Big Shot.” But it was NY pop sibling duo Lawrence that got everyone up and dancing on “Only the Good Die Young.”

Andrew McMahon, lead singer of rock band Jack's Mannequin, had the daunting task of tackling Joel’s signature tune, “Piano Man.”

The evening concluded with Joel’s regular rockin’ encore of “You May Be Right” with the cast collectively singing on stage.

The evening raised $225,000 in support of music education for underprivileged students.

By David J. Criblez

david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez

David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.