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Oct 21, 2009
BILLY JOEL & ELTON JOHN FACE TO FACE

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma – October 20, 2009 — Billy Joel and Elton John, the most successful and longest-running concert pairing in pop history, will bring their wildly successful Face 2 Face tour to Ford Center on November 25th at 7:30pm. Since kicking off the 2009 Face 2 Face tour in March 2009, the duo have performed over 40 sold out concerts in front of nearly three-quarters of a million people.

Billy and Elton open the concert with a series of duets, playing twin pianos and trading vocals. Each artist then performs a set with his own band. A grand finale brings the two superstars and their supporting musicians back together for a closing encore. This includes some of both Billy and Elton’s greatest hits along with an unpredictable selection of rock and roll classics.

Tickets for Wednesday, November 25th performance at Ford Center go on-sale Saturday, October 24th at 10 a.m. and will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com; www.livenation.com; the Ford Center box office or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets are limited to 8 per customer.

"The great thing about performing with Elton is that he is such a good piano player and that makes me have to dig deep to keep up with him, not to mention I've got the best seat in the house-only one piano away from Elton John!” said Billy.

“I love touring with Billy. I have the greatest respect for him and we’re such good friends,” Elton said.

"It is truly and honor to have two of the biggest names in the business, Billy Joel and Elton John, as part of our fall line up of events as we reopen the newly renovated Ford Center,” said Ford Center General Manager Gary Desjardins. “We can’t wait to welcome these legendary musical talents!”

Concert dates announced this year for the Face 2 Face tour immediately sold-out and included Boston’s Gillette Stadium and two concerts each at Toronto’s Air Canada Center, Seattle’s Key Arena, Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Philadelphia’s Citizen Bank Ballpark -- in addition to concerts in Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Nashville, St. Paul and Tampa.

Other concert dates announced for the Fall 2009 segment of the Face 2 Face tour include Little Rock, Portland, Oakland, San Jose and Salt Lake City.

Billy and Elton played the first date of their co-headlining Face 2 Face tour on July 8, 1994 at the 62,000-capacity Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia PA. That Veterans Stadium concert began a run of 21 sold-out performances in 13 cities and established a winning formula for all future Face 2 Face concerts.

Perhaps the high point of that 1994 maiden voyage was the series of five concerts at 75,000-capacity Giants Stadium in New Jersey. In his review of the July 22 performance, Neil Strauss of the New York Times wrote:

“Musically, the two gifted, idiosyncratic artists exist in the nether world between pop and rock, where Broadway show tunes, classical compositions, ragtime, gospel and rock-`n'-roll mingle freely.”

The 1994 Face 2 Face Tour played its final concert August 20 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL. It had become one of the ten biggest US tours of all time. In March and April 1995, the Face 2 Face Tour returned for twelve encore performances at some of the country’s largest stadiums.

Three years later, the tour that conquered North America took Europe, Japan and Australia by storm with a total of 30 performances.

Billy and Elton last toured together in 2003 with 24 sellouts. There could be no doubt that Face 2 Face starring Billy and Elton was according to Billboard, “the most successful touring package of all time.”

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