Blind 14-year-old piano prodigy plays duet with Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden

Logan Riman is blind, but that never stopped the 14-year-old from following his dreams. Riman is a piano prodigy, and in April he played at Radio City Music Hall.

The teen calls his act "Logan the Piano Man" and this week, he added another accomplishment to his list of accolades — playing with the "Piano Man" himself, Billy Joel.

When Riman blew away the crowd at Radio City Music Hall during the Garden of Dreams Foundation talent show, leaders at the foundation took notice.

They arranged for Riman to meet Billy Joel during his sound check at Madison Square Garden — something very few people can say they've experienced.  

Earlier this month, Riman went to MSG to meet Joel ahead of his concert, and thought he'd only have time for a quick hello. Then, the legendary musician did something surprising.

"Out of nowhere, Mr. Billy Joel was gracious enough to ask Logan if he wanted to join him on stage to play," the teen's mother Leah Riman told CBS New York.

Riman started playing "Piano Man," and Joel joined in. The two played a duet together in an empty arena – just two piano men, following their passion.

"At Madison Square Garden… it was so cool. That was amazing," Riman told CBS New York.

From the Great Stage to the World’s Most Famous Arena ✨ #GDFTalentShow performer Logan joined @billyjoel at the piano during soundcheck at @TheGarden last Thursday! #DreamComeTrue #PianoMan #TBT [📹: Myrna Suarez] pic.twitter.com/dXTxTRjXax

— Garden of Dreams (@gardenofdreams) July 18, 2019

Music has always been important to Riman. The teen, who was born blind, said music seemed to calm him as a baby. He started taking piano lessons at just two years old. He's now a music prodigy — but it wasn't always easy being himself.

"He gets bullied a lot, he gets judged a lot, but people shouldn't do that," his mother said. "He's an incredible child, very smart, you get to know him, give him a chance, you'll love him. Don't judge people, give them their chance."

Riman's mom is hoping the video of his Billy Joel performance shows people there are no limits. "I am so thankful to Garden of Dreams for literally fulfilling his dream, my dream for him," she said.

Logan practices playing a wide variety of music, but since meeting Joel himself, he's decided to work on perfecting one of the superstar's other songs: "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant."

Caitlin O'Kane

Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.

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