Billy Joel's Daughters Steal the Show as He Ends Record-Breaking Madison Square Garden Residency with 150th Concert

"It's been a dream come true," said the Piano Man at the historic performance, which included appearances by Axl Rose and Jimmy Fallon

• He's Movin' Out! Singer Billy Joel on Thursday, July 25 ended his historic residency at New York City's Madison Square Garden

• Axl Rose surprised the crowd, performing with Joel on three songs

• Joel's two youngest daughters Della Rose and Remy Anne also made a special appearance, and had the crowd cheering as they performed with their dad

Billy Joel's name will be hanging from the Madison Square Garden rafters for a very, very long time.

The singer-songwriter and hometown hero, 75, played the final gig of his record-breaking residency at the iconic New York City venue on Thursday, July 25 — a sold-out performance that marked Joel's 150th lifetime show there. And to note the milestone, a permanent banner was raised in the Piano Man's honor.

"No one has done this," said Jimmy Fallon, who presented Joel with the marker. "We are here tonight witnessing this. We are part of history. Congratulations. I love you, New York City loves you — we all love you."

PEOPLE was on hand for the unforgettable evening, which was attended by a slew of stars including the Tonight Show host, former President Bill Clinton, Paul Rudd, Robert Kraft and Dr. Dana Blumberg and former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Related: Watch Billy Joel's Long-Awaited Music Video for 'Turn the Lights Back On' (Exclusive)

There was also a surprise performance by Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, who took the stage to cover two iconic rock songs: the 1973 Wings hit "Live and Let Die" and "Highway to Hell," AC/DC's 1979 classic. He also joined Joel for the last song of the night, Joel's 1980 tune "You May Be Right."

"It’s been a dream come true," Joel told the crowd of nearly 20,000 fans of his residency. "I first came to Madison Square Garden when I was a 4-year-old to see the Circus and watch Gene Autry sing ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.’ And now, here I am doing this. Thanks, Mom!"

"We don't want to go either, but it's time," Joel also said Thursday evening. "It’s 10 years. None of us knew we were going to be able to do this for this long. This has been the most amazing gig that we’ve ever done ever."

Related: Billy Joel Serenades Christie Brinkley with 'Uptown Girl' Decades After Their Divorce

That's saying a lot, considering all the other landmark performances Joel has had over his five decades in the industry — many of which he shared with the audience.

"We were the first group to play in Yankee Stadium. We were the last band to play at Shea Stadium. We played in Berlin the night that the Berlin Wall came down. We were the first American full-fledge performance in the Soviet Union. And we were the first band after Castro came to power to play Cuba. We played in front of the Colosseum in Rome for a half a million people (and the food was great)," Joel said. "But out of all of them, this is the best."

"There’s no place like it," he added. "The band likes it, the crew likes it… we’ll come back!"

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Joel played nearly an hour and half show, blazing through 22 of his biggest hits including "New York State of Mind," "Uptown Girl," "We Didn't Start the Fire," "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," "Only the Good Die Young," "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," "Pressure," "The River of Dreams," "Big Shot," "Vienna," and yes, "Piano Man."

Throughout it all, the Long Island legend appeared to be having a blast, cracking jokes about his age and his songbook. But he was also sentimental, praising his band and even dedicating a song — his 1986 ballad "This Is the Time" — to his wife, Alexis Roderick as photos of his family through the years played behind him.

"My lovely wife asked me to do that song for you, so this is for Alexis." he said afterwards.

But it was Joel's two daughters with Roderick — Della Rose, 8, and Remy Anne, 6 — who stole the show.

Dressed in matching stripped pink, purple and white fringe dresses, the girls joined their dad on stage for hugs as he received his banner and then stuck around as he performed his 1978 upbeat hit "My Life." And while they both started by sitting on Joel's piano and waving at the crowd, Della Rose soon jumped on stage and began singing and dancing along to the song, even getting on the mic with Joel at one point.

"Thank you Madison Square Garden," Della Rose shouted afterwards, walking off the stage with her sister like an old pro.

“I guess it’s her life now," Joel joked. "Thanks girls!"

Joel's final performance at MSG arrives over eight months after he announced the final show of his residency. Months before that, he revealed the historic run of shows was coming to a close during a press conference featuring Joel, MSG CEO James Dolan and N.Y.C. Mayor Eric Adams.

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"I'm kind of flabbergasted that it lasted as long as it did. My team tells me that we could continue to sell tickets, but 10 years, 150 shows – all right already!" Joel said in a statement at the time.

The musician also called his first show at the venue — which took place in December 1978 — "the pinnacle of my career."

He added: "To our audience, I want to thank them for coming to our shows for this long. It's hard to end, even at 150 lifetime shows. I just want to thank everyone for the wonderful thing that's happened here."

Related: Inside Billy Joel's 100th Madison Square Garden Concert Event: Surprise Appearances, Set List and More!

"It's hard to believe that we've been able to do this for 10 years. I didn't know how long it was going to last," Joel said. "I never imagined anyone could have a residency here. It's just been one crazy exhilarating night after another… To me, my band, MSG is more than just our office. It's home. If you Google Billy Joel's house, they show Madison Square Garden, which is kind of cool."

Over the years of his residency, Joel has been joined by a number of special guests including Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Paul Simon, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, John Mellencamp, Tony Bennett, Patty Smyth, Elvis Costello, Bryan Adams, John Mayer and Alexa Ray Joel — Billy's daughter with his ex-wife, model Christie Brinkley. 

Beyond his records in recorded music, Billy holds both of The Garden's performance-related records. He set the record for "most consecutive performances by any artist" in 2006 (a record which, after Thursday, stands at 104), as well as the record for "most lifetime performances by an artist" when he played his 65th show in 2015. That's now at 150.

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