Billy Joel sets 59th Madison Square Garden franchise show

Billy Joel will extend his record-setting residency at Madison Square Garden through the end of 2018 and will begin using a new program to help fans land tickets.

The Dec. 19 concert will be the 59th in his residency and the 105th at the arena in the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s entire career. And it will be the first of Joel’s shows to use Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, which requires fans to register at verifiedfan.ticketmaster.com/billyjoel before tickets go on sale to anyone. Once Ticketmaster determines you are an individual — not a ticket broker or automated computer program — you are entered into a lottery that allows you to purchase tickets, priced $65.50-$139.50, before they go on sale May 4 at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster. (As they have in the past, Citi cardholders can purchase presale tickets starting at 10 a.m. on April 30.)

The December show closes out Joel’s fifth year as The Garden’s musical franchise and he has established some traditions in the run. Traditionally, the December show has been the Hicksville native’s holiday show, where he mixes Christmas carols in with his usual career-spanning setlist.

Joel is set for a short European tour in June before heading on a series of stadium shows including concerts in Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago that will also break records. He is also celebrating the New York Emmy Award wins for the documentary “Billy Joel: New York State of Mind,” which picked up four Emmys earlier this month for MSG Network, including best entertainment program/special.