ST. LOUIS _ Billy Joel managed to do on Thursday night what protests had prevented U2 and Ed Sheeran from doing earlier in the week: perform in concert in St. Louis.
Despite hundreds of demonstrators marching outside, the performer known as The Piano Man took to the stage at Busch Stadium as scheduled at 8 p.m. to deliver hit after hit in front of a sold-out crowd of 40,000.
"Good evening St Louie," Joel said early on. "Glad you made it. I know things have been a little tense around here."
His first song, "My Life," drowned out the protesters' chants. That prompted many of them to move away from the stadium back toward Kiener Plaza, where they had first grouped.
At different times, they blocked traffic on Broadway between the stadium and the plaza, but there were no reports of violence or vandalism.
The protest marked a seventh day of demonstrations and other events in response to a judge's decision finding former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley, who is white, not guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting of drug suspect Anthony Lamar Smith, who was black, after a car chase in 2011. That decision was issued last Friday.
The protesters Thursday night gathered at Kiener Plaza just two blocks from the stadium and, at about 7 p.m., peacefully marched onto Broadway at Market Street, blocking traffic as they headed south. Among the chants of the group, which was overwhelmingly white, were: "White silence is violence."
They regrouped at the east entrance to the stadium.
They were closely watched by police, who were stationed throughout downtown.
The chants also included "Out of the county and into the streets."
Alexandra Lane-Detwiler of Chesterfield was among the protesters. "I can't sit at home in my privilege and not come out," she said.
At one point, a couple of protesters appeared to be attempting to block a police SUV in the street, but they were pulled away by organizers of the protest.
Hours earlier, officials had taken precautions to prevent potential protests from disrupting the concert. Barricades were erected around the stadium. The marchers were kept outside the barricades.
Over the weekend, several events were canceled due to concerns about the protests. U2 had canceled its concert that was to have been Saturday night at the Dome at America's Center, as did Sheeran for a show Sunday night at Scottrade Center.
The performers and concert promoters said police had been unable to assure that they could provide adequate security.
The economic blow from the canceled events compounded the damage, mostly in the form of broken windows, done in the city and in University City by vandals who had struck as organized peaceful protests wound down.
Earlier Thursday, a crowd of about 200 protesters briefly blocked traffic at Skinker Boulevard and Clayton Road on the western edge of the city.
Some of the protesters also briefly went into the Cheshire inn that is in the southwest corner of the intersection.
Police officers formed a line to prevent the group from entering Highway 40 (Interstate 64) and ordered the crowd that had begun gathering at 3 p.m. to disperse. After about 30 minutes, the protesters moved off the street and into nearby Forest Park.
The protesters chanted "No justice, no profits" and many of them held signs referencing the Black Lives Matter movement. Police said protesters cleared the intersection, and while a bottle containing a red substance was thrown at officers, no one was injured and no one was arrested.
The Rev. Darryl Gray, chairman of the Social Justice Committee of the Missionary Baptist State Convention, was among the protesters.
"The people made it clear from Day One after the verdict that there will be civil disruption, disobedience and disturbance that will disrupt the financial economy and the peace," he said.
He says clergy are supportive of the protest.
"We will continue to do this until the protest leadership sees changes in the St. Louis Police Department," Gray said.
