Rush did a great job of breaking the internet at the beginning of this week when they announced their first tour dates in 11 years.
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson joined fans and select media at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Sunday evening (Oct. 5) to celebrate the news. You can see photos from the events of the night below.
Donna Halper was also on hand at the Rock Hall’s Foster Theater to introduce and bring the pair on stage prior to their conversation with journalist Geoff Edgers. Her presence was appropriate — she’s credited with discovering the band during her time at Cleveland’s WMMS-FM in 1974, where she was the music director. There at the radio station, she received a package from Canadian record promoter Bob Roper. Inside was a copy of the debut album by Rush, which hadn’t yet been released in the United States.
She put “Working Man” on the air, a moment which would spark a lifelong friendship and a kinship with the members of Rush. Halper, who had come to Cleveland from Boston to work at WMMS, found that she had a lot in common with her new friends. “The guys in Rush never cared that I didn’t smoke or drink or do drugs. They couldn’t have cared less. I was their friend. I was their big sister,” Halper told me in 2018. “They were three kids from Toronto and like me, they’d never been away from home either. When they came to Cleveland, it was like, ‘Oh my God, people know who we are. This is amazing.’”
Listen to Matt Wardlaw and Chuck Armstrong Discuss the Rush Reunion
The evening at the Rock Hall with Lee and Lifeson featured plenty of poignant moments of reflection in that same vein. There was also no shortage of humorous quips and funny stories. But they both had visible excitement for the moment when they’ll get to play the songs of Rush together again on stage in a proper concert setting.
“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,” Lifeson explained to Edgers. “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.”
READ MORE: Why Rush is Going Back on Tour
They left a couple of pieces of their long legacy in Cleveland to commemorate the night, including a Fender bass guitar from Lee that had been used on the Vapor Trails tour. which the bassist and vocalist described as “a very emotional and monumental tour, from our perspective [and] I’m sure, for the fans too,” he shared. “It was used, particularly in the song ‘Driven’ that we played almost every night, pretty much. So, there’s a lot of miles [on the road with that bass].”
The details regarding Lifeson’s donation were humorously a bit vague by comparison. “That guitar over there is a crimson Alex Lifeson Axcess Les Paul,” he offered. “It was on the last tour. We used it in….the songs that we were playing.”
“Can you be less specific?” Lee quipped.
“Sure! Uh, I was there. It’s a beautiful example….it has six strings and it makes music.” Lifeson retorted.
One of our other favorite moments of the night? The fan questions. They were brief, but we give high marks to the person who asked Lee and Lifeson, “If aliens invaded Earth, with the intention to destroy it, what Rush song would you show them to save the planet?”
We might need to follow up on that one, once they’ve had a chance to ponder the subject a bit more, but Lifeson knew which song they wouldn’t be offering up: “Tai Shan,” from 1987’s Hold Your Fire.
Listen to Rush’s ‘Tai Shan’
How Can You Get Tickets for the Rush Tour?
Registration for the Rush artist presale is open now and ends Thursday (Oct. 9). The presale will begin Monday (Oct. 13) with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday, Oct. 17. You can find details at the band’s official website.
Ultimate Classic Rock is also giving fans a chance to win tickets, airfare and hotel accommodations to see Rush on July 18 in Chicago at the United Center. Share your favorite Rush memories and get qualified.
Watch Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
RUSH at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Oct. 6, 2025
Gallery Credit: Matt Wardlaw
