Elton John returns to the stage

Elton John has resumed his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour, returning to the stage in New Orleans after a nearly two-year hiatus.

The "Tiny Dancer" and "Crocodile Rock" hitmaker, 74, played the Crescent City on Wednesday night. Marking his retirement from performing on the road, John's global tour began in September 2018. Like other musicians he was forced to postpone live shows due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Wow, we haven't played a show since the 6th of March 2020. This is a new experience for us, I've never had this amount of time off in my life ... playing music, well at least since I was 17 years of age," the singer told the crowd.

"I have a fact for you, you have been holding on to these tickets for 745 days. And I can't thank you enough for being so patient. We live in funny times but we're gonna have a great time."

Sir Elton, who in September announced he was pushing back the tour's 2021 European dates due to hip problems, has enjoyed a more than 50-year music career.

He will perform across North America until April. His tour will then take him to Europe and back to North America before playing in Australia and New Zealand next year.

He is scheduled to wrap up the tour in Europe in 2023.