Rush is going back on tour for the first time in 11 years, something they admit was a “difficult decision.” The Canadian rock legends announced their Fifty Something outing today (Oct. 6). The limited run of shows begins June 7 in Los Angeles.
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were in Cleveland last night (Oct. 5) on the eve of the announcement at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a conversation with Geoff Edgers of the Washington Post. In front of an audience inside the intimate Foster Theater, featuring longtime associates, members of the media and select fans, the pair discussed why they are putting the band back together. They also talked, with visible emotion, about how they approached moving forward without their longtime friend and bandmate, Neil Peart. The drummer and lyricist died on Jan. 7, 2020 following a quiet three-year battle with brain cancer.
“You know, when we finished the [R40] tour [in 2015], it was difficult for Neil and he had enough. By that point, I think Ged and I still had gas in the tank and we still wanted to continue working,” Lifeson explained. “But it was what it was. The further I got away from it, the more I thought, ‘You know, it’s okay. We had 40 years. I’m tired of hanging around hotels, being away from family and all of that stuff.’ I felt that way for most of the last 10 years, really. I thought we had a great legacy and it’s okay.”
READ MORE: Revisiting Neil Peart’s Final Rush Concert
“Then, this guy [Geddy] came along and had some big ideas and we talked and we started playing. I realized I love it so much. I love playing so much — and I’ve continued over these last years, doing other projects and still playing a lot,” the guitarist continues. “But we sat down and started playing some of the Rush stuff and I realized how hard it was to play these songs — you know, when you do it every day for 40 years, it’s not a big deal, really. You’re used to it. But when you’re away from it, you are a little bit more objective about the intense complexity of the music and the feel and the nuances and all of the things that go into making a Rush song and performance. To be challenged with that again, was really, really exciting. The more we started rehearsing and playing, the more I just fell in love with the idea of playing again.”
Watch Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson Discuss the Rush Reunion at the Rock Hall
‘It Was a Very Difficult Decision on Many Levels’
As Lee outlined, moving to the next step was complex, because of the feelings they still had about the loss of Peart. “I mean, it was a very difficult decision on many levels. First of all, because of what it entails in terms of work, but also what had transpired,” the vocalist and bassist detailed. “Losing a member like Neil was devastating and it was a very sad time. It took time for us to even contemplate [playing live again]. I mean, this is a relatively recent decision. I would say it was kind of out of the question for the longest time because of those circumstances — and how do you replace someone who is irreplaceable? So we would joke about it sometimes. Al was doing other things. I was writing books and something happened in the last couple of years that brought us back to jamming in the studio. He would come over, drink my coffee, hang around [and] jam. We would jam and we would laugh.”
‘Playing Those Songs Dispelled the Dark Clouds’
“Then one day, I don’t know why, we started playing some Rush songs for fun,” he remembered. “God, we were laughing so hard and we were enjoying it so much. It was almost like playing those songs dispelled the dark clouds. I think this started in 2022 when we played the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts. The first time that we went out on stage with another drummer and played some of our music, it was like, ‘Oh, right, these are our songs that we sweated over that are part of us, that can never not be a part of us.”
READ MORE: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson Join Dave Grohl at Taylor Hawkins Tribute
‘So when we started jamming again, that just kind of brought it home. Of course, Al’s been through a lot of health issues, [which] has been discussed publicly before,” Lee shared. “For the longest time, there was no approaching a tour, because he wasn’t healthy enough. He’s pretty effin’ healthy right now. It was really his enthusiasm [that made me want to do this]. Then, we started talking seriously. We called some people, our friends — Cliff Burnstein [industry manager and co-owner of Q Prime Artist Management, was] one of them — to fact find, what’s it like to tour these days, you know? It was a hard decision. It was not an easy decision to come to and this is really the first time we’re talking about it out loud in front of other people. So yeah, it feels right and we’re gonna do it.”
How Neil Peart’s Family Feels
Lee went on to discuss the discovery of drummer Anika Nilles (Jeff Beck), who will play with them on the upcoming run and he also shared that all of this is happening with the blessing of Peart’s family. “It’ll be, I think, quite an emotional moment,” he admitted, regarding the first Rush concert at the Kia Forum, the same venue where they played their final gig with Peart on Aug. 1, 2015. “I have to say also, a thank you to Carrie Nuttall and Olivia Peart [Peart’s wife and daughter], who have been very supportive and are supporting us for this tour, and we really appreciate that. That makes things better.”
“We also plan to pay tribute to Neil at least a couple of times during the show in our own way and that’ll happen every night,” he added. “You know, after Neil passed, COVID hit and we were never really able to do any kind of tribute to him — not a tribute concert. So this is one way we that we pay homage to the music and the lyrics and the incredible drumming of our pal and partner. And at the same time, celebrate the music that you guys have thankfully shown up for, for all these years. We’ll just endeavor to do our best to make you guys happy.”
Fans can register to buy tickets through Thursday, Oct. 9. The initial artist presale will begin Monday, Oct. 13 with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday, Oct. 17. Details are available at the band’s official website.
Listen to Alex Lifeson on the ‘UCR Podcast’
Rush Live Albums Ranked
A list of Rush live albums, ranked from worst to best.
Gallery Credit: Ryan Reed
