Louder: Billy Joel announces brain disorder and cancels all concerts

May 24, 2025

	By Caryn Ganz

I’ve been traveling this week to see my beloved Scissor Sisters perform their first shows in over a decade, in the U.K., which embraced their cheeky genius well before the U.S. started to catch up. Time has only deepened my appreciation for their cultural sleight of hand, gathering the bawdy lunacy (and close-harmony guitar wizardry) of hair metal and the spacey wanderings of psychedelic rock with classic songwriting and the brilliant stupidity of drag humor, and wrapping it all in a disco-glam package. Because it’s extremely late here and we’re friendly, that’s all I’ll say about that (I am recused from any formal coverage), but it’s a thrill to have them back.

As a result, I’m behind on the Sean Combs trial, but the team has been cranking at the courthouse and has an update on the second week of testimony here. I was gutted by the news that Billy Joel is calling off all his upcoming concerts because he has a brain disorder known as normal pressure hydrocephalus. (You can learn more about the condition here.) Last July, he ended his decade-long residency at Madison Square Garden to explore other touring opportunities, after putting out his first new pop song in nearly two decades.

Also this week: Jon Caramanica delved into the latest Morgan Wallen album (which is largely a mood); Mark Yarm spoke with Grace Potter, whose tale of a shelved LP from 16 years ago is intertwined with a very personal story; and Marc Tracy brought us 130 minutes of jam band music in The Amplifier (only seven tracks!) while Jon Pareles assembled eight of the week’s most notable new songs in the Playlist.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Billy Joel Announces Brain Disorder and Cancels All Concerts

Joel said he had normal pressure hydrocephalus, which has led to “problems with hearing, vision and balance.”

By Joe Coscarelli

A man in dark pants and button-down shirt and a ball cap sings into a wireless microphone onstage.

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Critic’s Notebook

Morgan Wallen Retreats Into Sadness, While His Protégés Party On

The country superstar’s “I’m the Problem” is a despondent self-portrait. But a generation of singers blending Southern rap and Nashville songwriting are thriving.

By Jon Caramanica

Karol G holds a pink microphone in her right hand and punches her left one forward. She wears a black bra top and pants and stands in front of a black background.

The Playlist

Karol G’s Ode to Curves, Plus 7 More New Songs

Hear tracks by Alejandro Sanz and Shakira, St. Vincent, Stereolab and others.

By Jon Pareles

Dave Matthews, in a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled up, plays an acoustic guitar as he sings into a microphone onstage.

A 7-Song, 130-Minute Jam Band Primer

Listen to noodling tracks by Dave Matthews Band, Grateful Dead, Goose and more.

By Marc Tracy

A blond woman in black boots and a dress sits on a chair and folds her arms on her knees.

How Grace Potter Lost (and Found) a Solo Album, and a New Life

The Grace Potter and the Nocturnals frontwoman made an LP with T Bone Burnett that got held. Sixteen years later, after a twisting tale of love and music, it’s arriving.

By Mark Yarm and Molly Matalon

Popcast

The Relentlessness of Jeff Goldblum

In a wide-ranging interview on Popcast, the actor and musician insisted that the immutable Jeff Goldblum persona is “not a performance” — it’s his lifeblood.

1 HR 6 MIN LISTEN

SEAN COMBS TRIAL

A woman in a white dress and long earrings stands next to a man in a tuxedo.

At the Combs Trial, the Elusive Victim-3 and Other Unsettled Questions

The major outlines of the prosecution of the music mogul Sean Combs have taken shape in a Manhattan courtroom. But several issues at the core of the case remain unanswered.

By Joe Coscarelli, Julia Jacobs and Ben Sisario

Two men, one holding an umbrella, walk alongside each other.

Kid Cudi Recalls His Porsche Being Torched as Witness at Sean Combs Trial

The rapper testified on Thursday about the chaotic aftermath of Mr. Combs discovering his relationship with Casandra Ventura.

By Ben Sisario and Julia Jacobs

A Spanish-style mansion with a red gabled roof.

At Sean Combs Trial, Details of a Raid That Found Guns and Baby Oil

In an effort to present Mr. Combs as the leader of a criminal enterprise, an investigator testified about the drugs, guns and other items found in his Florida mansion.

By Julia Jacobs and Ben Sisario

A woman in sunglasses and a sweater cape walks alongside a man in a suit as another man films them with a hand-held camera.

Cassie’s Mother Testifies at Sean Combs’s Trial About Bruises and a Payment

Casandra Ventura’s mother said she tried to pay the mogul to ensure her daughter’s safety, and an escort known as Punisher described engaging in up to a dozen “freak-offs.”

By Ben Sisario and Julia Jacobs

A woman in a plaid tan suit walks arm-in-arm with a woman in a mint suit jacket and a colorful sweater among a throng of people and cameras on a sidewalk.

Dawn Richard Recalls Witnessing Sean Combs’s Violence Against Cassie

After four days of testimony from Casandra Ventura, the mogul’s former girlfriend, prosecutors are questioning collaborators and friends about their relationship.

By Julia Jacobs and Ben Sisario

OBITUARIES

Shane Doyle, wearing glasses, a black leather jacket, a dark sweatshirt and a printed T-shirt, leans against a billboard-covered lamppost on a lighted street at night.

Todd France for The New York Times

Shane Doyle, Founder of a Storied East Village Venue, Dies at 73

An Irish expatriate, he created Sin-é, a bare-bones cafe that became an unlikely magnet for stars like Sinead O’Connor, Bono of U2 and Iggy Pop.

By Alex Williams

Investigators wearing blue F.B.I. shirts stand near the charred remains of a car where a plane crashed on Thursday.

Ariana Drehsler/Getty Images North America, via Getty

Drummer and Music Agent Among 6 Killed in San Diego Plane Crash

Friends paid tribute to Daniel Williams, a former drummer for the metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, and Dave Shapiro, a music agent who worked with Sum 41, Hanson and other bands.

By Michael Levenson