Billy Joel understands one day his touring career will be over.
So, Mike Santoro said when he met Joel, the 75-year-old piano man offered support for Santoro’s tribute act.
“The way he said it, we are keeping his music alive because he won’t be doing it forever,” Santoro said. “When he’s off the road and fans see one of our shows and they’re buying a record or downloading music, they’re not buying from us, they’re buying from him.”
The Face 2 Face tribute act, with Santoro as Joel and Ronnie Smith as Elton John, will perform at 8 p.m. Aug. 24 at Symphony on the Prairie at Conner Prairie in Fishers.
Santoro and Ronnie Smith formed Face 2 Face in 2010. Santoro also performs as Billy Joel in a solo act called The Stranger.
“We come out together with the band and play four songs,” Santoro said. “Then Elton would exit and I would do a set for 40 minutes. Then he would do a set for 40 minutes, followed by a short intermission. Then we come back to do an hour and 15 minutes Face 2 Face. That’s what we’re doing (at Conner Prairie).”
Santoro, 55, said they have played Symphony on the Prairie several times. The concert stays true to the live music performance of both performers.
Santoro said he recently received the news that the name Face 2 Face is now a registered trademark in the music category. Santoro is based in Charlotte and Smith in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Santoro has seen Billy Joel and Elton John perform live, but never saw the duo together when they toured at Face to Face. Their last tour together was in 2009-10.
“We patterned the show on how they did it,” Santoro said. “It worked for them and we hoped it would work for us and it has.”
Santoro said when his friends were listening to Kiss, he was listening to Billy Joel, Elton John and Fleetwood Mac because he had older sisters
“Billy is a local hero of mine. He grew up just a few miles from my house,” said Santoro, who grew up in Long Island, N.Y.
For more, visit indianapolissymphony.org and face2facetribute.com.
