Neil Peart documentary “No One’s Disciple” premieres at TIFF on September 16, with four drummers filling his seat.
Four drummers were needed to cover for Neil Peart. That is the shape of the tribute at the centre of “Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple“, which will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
The 96-minute film screens on September 16 at the Princess of Wales Theatre as part of TIFF’s Special Presentations programme, with further public showings on September 17 and September 19. It reaches Canadian television a few days later, airing on CBC on September 23 as part of “The Passionate Eye“.
Four Drummers Take Peart’s Seat
TIFF‘s synopsis sets out the premise: “Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson team up with four revered drummers — Stewart Copeland, Danny Carey, Chad Smith, and Gavin Harrison — for an exhilarating and poignant tribute to late Rush legend Neil Peart.”
Stewart Copeland of The Police, Danny Carey of Tool, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Gavin Harrison each perform Rush material alongside Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, taking on compositions Peart built over four decades. Copeland had known Peart for years but had never played with Lee and Lifeson before the cameras rolled.
A Second Rush Film From Banger Films
Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn direct, sixteen years after their 2010 Rush documentary “Beyond The Lighted Stage“. Their Toronto company Banger Films produces alongside Elevation Pictures, with Republic Pictures handling distribution outside Canada. International release dates have not been announced.
The film traces Peart‘s early years grinding through gigs in Canada and London before the breakthrough, then follows the rise that turned him into one of the most studied drummers in rock. Rare archival footage runs throughout, and the film addresses the deaths of his daughter and his wife within a ten-month period in the late 1990s, a loss that took him off the road for years.
Rush Are On The Road As The Film Arrives
The premiere lands midway through Rush‘s first touring campaign since Peart‘s death. The “Fifty Something” tour opened on June 7 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, the same building where the band played their final show with him in 2015 at the close of the “R40” tour.
Lee and Lifeson are joined on that run by German drummer Anika Nilles, who prepared for the job by studying Peart‘s parts song by song, and keyboardist Loren Gold, a touring member of The Who and Chicago. Lee has explained that the band deliberately avoided hiring a well-known rock drummer to sidestep the comparisons that would have followed.
The tour runs across Canada, the United States and Mexico as a series of “evening with” shows, two sets a night, with the setlist changing at every stop from a working pool of around 35 songs. The dates announced in October 2025 sold out at once, the run was doubled, and more shows were added after that. Lee has also ruled out new Rush music and acknowledged there are limits to how much longer he can tour.
The 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, its 51st edition, runs from September 10 to September 20 and features 293 films.
Peart died on January 7, 2020 in Santa Monica, California at the age of 67, following a three-year illness with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. The band announced his death three days later.
