After hyping up yesterday that a “major concert announcement” was coming, Nationals Park announced this morning at a press conference (!) that Billy Joel will be performing at the baseball park on July 26.

This is the first time Joel is performing in D.C. in five years. The last time was at—you guessed it—Nationals Park. Now, I don’t have anything against Billy Joel—his music is fine, if unspectacular; it sort of falls under that “meh” category for me—but the hype that officials built around Joel’s concert announcement seems way overblown and ridiculous to me. Yesterday’s tease sent media into a tailspin trying to predict who it was that would be announced today.

But that got me thinking: What artist or band concert at Nationals Park would warrant such a grandiose announcement rollout? Well, here are some contenders:

David Bowie

It’s easy to forget that David Bowie put out a new album—his first in ten years—last year (it was a good, not great album, IMO) because he’s been kept such a low profile over the last decade, rarely giving interviews or making any public appearances. After the release of The Next Day, reports on whether or not Bowie would tour have been sketchy at best. If he were to tour, Nats Park would be a fitting venue and certainly worth a press conference to announce

Led Zeppelin

It seems like rumors of a Led Zeppelin reunion surface every few years. Although the band’s only reunion was a single concert in 2007, it’s not inconceivable to rule out a full-blown reunion in the near future. If so, that would be a “major concert announcement” for Nats Park.

Prince

H/T Washington City Paper’s Jon Fischer for this one:

The Smiths

File this under “probably will never, ever happen.” Though, if it did, Nats Park’s concessions would have to go all vegetarian for the night.

The Supremes (Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong lineup)

Plans for a Diana Ross & The Supremes tour with founding member Mary Wilson and longtime member Cindy Birdsong were scrapped in 2000 (the tour went on instead with Lynda Laurence and Scherrie Payne), but if it were to finally come to fruition, that’d be a big deal for Nats Park.

Destiny’s Child

I mean, they already reunited at a football stadium last year.

The Police

Sting and co. did a reunion tour in 2007 and 2008, but if they decided they wanted to get at it again, a Nats Park show would be a huge deal.

Fugazi

Well, Nats Park is an all ages venue. Not sure if Nats Park officials can swing $5 ticket prices though.

Filed Under: billy joel, concert announcements, nationals park,