Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett announce South Florida concerts. Here’s how to get tickets

Can you imagine the appeal of a Jimmy Buffett-Billy Joel co-headlining tour? Two worlds coming together. New York and the Florida Keys.

Now forget it. That’s not quite what this story’s about.

Close, though. Joel and Buffett are bringing their separate tours to South Florida in the next couple of months.

Buffett’s ‘Floridays’

First up, Buffett, the man who did more to put the Key West state of mind on the pop music record than any other singer-songwriter, announced a series of “Life on the Flip Side Tour 2021” dates for Florida.

South Florida has the “Son of a Son of Sailor” booked Thursday, Dec. 9 at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach.

Buffett is also playing Tampa on Dec. 4, Jacksonville on Dec. 7 and Orlando on Dec. 11.

Tickets range from $36 for lawn space at iTHINK to $186 for platinum-level floor seats, but resale tickets are already pushing past a grand. You can get ‘em via Buffett’s website at jimmybuffett.com/events or via LiveNation.

Buffett, who recorded two albums during the lockdown in 2020, performed his first live concerts since the pandemic at Old School Square in Delray Beach over four nights in May.

World premiere: Watch Jimmy Buffett’s ’15 Cuban Minutes’ video

Joel’s intimate show

Can you call a 7,000-seat venue intimate? You certainly can if you’re comparing it to the arenas, like Madison Square Garden, that Billy Joel routinely favors and fills.

But the musician who wrote and sang “New York State of Mind” apparently wants to get closer to his fans at one of his adopted hometowns — South Florida — so the piano man is playing Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood on Friday, Jan. 28.

Or, he’s taking a cue from arena- and stadium-sized acts like Guns ‘n’ Roses and the Rolling Stones who both chose Hard Rock Live for 2021 tour stops.

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Ticket prices haven’t been announced yet but tickets go on sale for Joel’s simply titled “In Concert” at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 29, via Ticketmaster. Pre-sales for American Express cardholders went on sale Tuesday, and venue and social media pre-sale begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27. But don’t worry. Pre-sales don’t guarantee better seats.

A Buffett-Joel connection?

Turns out there is a Buffett and Joel link of sorts.

In 1979, inspired after a listen to Joel’s “52nd Street” album, Buffett was inspired to write a song for his “Volcano” album in Joel’s lush, pop-ballad piano style. The result was the side 2 LP cut, “Survive.”

“I like Billy Joel, I think he’s a good writer,” Buffett told Rolling Stone for a 1979 cover story. “But I just sat down and said to myself, ‘Well, god----. I can do one of those if I want to. ... S---, I can write a Billy Joel song.’”