When you think of Billy Joel coming to Las Vegas, you think of all his hits over the years. Piano Man, Uptown Girl, Big Shot, etc. What you might not expect is something out of an opera. Well that’s exactly what fans got when Billy performed at Allegiant Stadium this past Saturday. Halfway through the set…after The Longest Time and My Life…before It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me and We Didn’t Start The Fire…there was Nessun Dorma.

Nessun Dorma is probably one of the most famous operatic arias in history. It’s from the final act of Turandot, Giacomo Puccini’s famous opera. This tenor aria is often associated with Luciano Pavarotti, who has performed it flawlessly hundreds of times. But not this time…this performance was done by Billy’s secret weapon. His name is Mike DelGuidice. For the entire first half of the show, he was hiding in plain site. Standing onstage, playing his guitar, singing back up. The first time fans noticed him was when he rocked the vocals to ZZ Top’s Tush, which was the interlude performed during The River Of Dreams. Check it out…

I think every woman (and half the men) in Allegiant Stadium at this point said “Who. Is. That?” A hunky version of Billy with vocals to match. And it makes sense…DelGuidice is the vocalist and pianist (yes….he plays piano too!) for a Billy Joel tribute band in New York called Big Shot.

And Billy was gracious enough to share more of the spotlight with DelGuidice. This is where the fans got the real surprise. DelGuidice performed that beautiful aria with Billy Joel accompanying him on piano. And I tell you, fans emerged from that euphoric moment with that “what just happened” feeling.

I think we’re going to continue to see big things from this guy. And thanks to Billy Joel for always bringing us surprises in his shows. We love you Billy!

Here’s the whole set list Billy did on Saturday night.

1. Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)
2. Pressure
3. The Entertainer
4. Vienna
5. Don’t Ask Me Why
6. Zanzibar
7. Allentown
8. Just the Way You Are
9. Say Goodbye to Hollywood
10. The Longest Time
11. New York State of Mind
12. The Downeaster Alexa
13. She’s Always a Woman
14. My Life
15. Only the Good Die Young
16. A Whiter Shade of Pale (Procol Harum cover)
17. Sometimes a Fantasy
18. The River of Dreams (with ‘Tush’ by ZZ Top interlude)
19. Nessun dorma (Giacomo Puccini cover) (Mike DelGuidice Vocals)
20. Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
21. Piano Man
22. We Didn’t Start the Fire
23. Uptown Girl
24. It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me
25. Big Shot
26. You May Be Right (with “Rock & Roll” by Led Zeppelin interlude)

And check out Mike DelGuidice on piano!

MORE:

DelGuidice wasn’t the only surprise Saturday night. Billy Joel also touched fans with this cover of Procol Harum, in tribute to the late Gary Brooker. Brooker just passed away last month from cancer.

Sign me up for the 96.3 KKLZ email newsletter!

You love 96.3 KKLZ, so join the VIP Club! Be the first to know about our amazing ticket giveaways, the latest updates with your favorite artists, and more delivered right to your inbox.

First Name *

Last Name

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.