Review: BILLY STRITCH: MY YEAR WITH TONY BENNETT Should Play All Over the World

Mr. Stritch celebrates 100 years of an icon at 54 Below. Catch the last performance at 54 Below tonight at 7 pm in-person and on livestream

By: Stephen Sorokoff Aug. 03, 2026

Review: BILLY STRITCH: MY YEAR WITH TONY BENNETT Should Play All Over the World

Mr. Billy Stritch hit new heights this evening with an SRO crowd making him fly higher than I have ever seen before. The premise of the evening was as honest and simple as can be – a year he spent with the legend. Billy confessed that it was actually 11 months and 2 weeks (to the delighted audience who laughed) but once the music took hold, the place was on fire. The legendary Mr. Bennet’s birthday is today, August 3, and, last night, Mr. Stritch performed his valentine to the man for the very first time. Billy entered and took center stage to sing while Andy Ezrin “sat in” on the piano for tonight’s star, for the first two numbers and a heartfelt closer.

The show is called “Billy Stritch: My Year with Tony Bennett - Celebrating 100 Years of an Icon” and this could play (and should) all over the world.

As usual, I won’t give any spoilers, but the gifted Mr. Stritch explains how he came to meet Bennett and end up going on the road. The stories are heartfelt, touching and funny and the visual support of images from their time together can only make you smile.

Admittedly, it’s difficult to pick from the plethora of material to choose from and the slew of recordings accumulated over the singer’s seven-decade career.

The onstage band was comprised of Stritch, Andy Ezrin on keys, Michael O’Brien on Bass and Eric Halvorson on Drums. The musicians and Billy chewed up those brilliant charts and it got hotter and hotter and hotter. Billy seemed to get more vocally versatile as the crowd lifted him up and put air under his wings. Eda and I have always loved the man, but, tonight, he surprised the daylights out of both of us, as he dedicated two love songs to our celebrating 57 years of marriage. I was embarrassed, humbled, happy and proud (in that order). Also, more generosity of spirit when 54 Below graced our table with a beautiful candle-lit cake.

It was a great night out and I can promise you Tony Bennett is all smiles today. I hope this show comes to somewhere close to where you live and it should grow every year with additional songs for the treasure trove of music.

Well done, Billy!

The most important information I can share with you is that there is another performance tonight, at the club, and a birthday surprise is that you can stream it this evening, live. Tickets for in-person and the livestream are available here.