Alex Lifeson Doesn’t Want to Be Part of ‘Top Rush Tribute Band’

Alex Lifeson has been enjoying his regularly scheduled jam sessions with former Rush bandmate Geddy Lee, but he insists they aren’t going to materialize in a reunion.

“It’s good to jam with friends as you get older,” Lifeson recently told Classic Rock. “I need to play. Once a week I go to Ged’s — it’s in the calendar — keep my fingers moving, play Rush stuff, new jams. We do record it, but I couldn’t even begin to tell you where it’ll go.”

Rush played their final show in August 2015, and reunion prospects were seemingly put on ice after drummer Neil Peart‘s death in January 2020.

Taylor Hawkins Tributes Had Alex Lifeson Pondering Rush’s Future

Lifeson and Lee reunited onstage in 2022 for a pair of Taylor Hawkins tribute shows, where they performed Rush classics “2112 Part I: Overture,” “Working Man” and “YYZ” with various guest drummers including Foo Fighters‘ Dave Grohl, Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, Tool’s Danny Carey and former David Bowie drummer Omar Hakim. But despite the rapturous response to the performances, Lifeson knew it couldn’t become anything more.

“The energy was fantastic around that show, I know, and some days I wake up wanting to go out and tour again and some days I don’t,” he said. “For 40 years Rush included Neil, and I don’t think putting some new version together would have the same magic.”

He continued: “After those two gigs and the months of prep Ged and I went through, I was excited by the response and to be in the dressing room again with so many fellow artists in Wembley and L.A. I respected and felt a kinship towards. But after a few weeks that wore off and it occurred to me that despite all the pain of loss, Rush went out on a high note playing as well as ever with one of our best stage shows on R40. I guess I’d rather be remembered for that legacy than returning as the top Rush tribute band.”

Lifeson is instead keeping busy with his new band, Envy of None, who will release their sophomore album, Stygian Wavz, on March 14. Lee, meanwhile, is gearing up to release a baseball-related book titled 72 Stories on May 13. It follows his 2023 memoir My Effin’ Life.