Rush legends Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are leaving nothing to chance as they prepare for their massive return to the stage. In a new interview with Darren Redick of the U.K.’s Planet Rock, the duo revealed the staggering amount of preparation going into their upcoming “Fifty Something” tour, which marks their first official outings under the Rush banner in 11 years.
According to guitarist Alex Lifeson, the band is taking a much more rigorous approach than previous tours to ensure they honor their legacy properly.
“We always rehearsed a lot, and in the past we would rehearse on our own individually for maybe a month, and then we would get together and rehearse for a month, and then we’d do a couple of weeks, full-production rehearsals in a venue. So by the time you hit the stage on the first show, you’re seasoned; it’s like the 20th show. The difference this time around is that we’re rehearsing for about a year — seriously — before the [first] show. We just really wanna be at our absolute peak by the time we start the tour in earnest,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Geddy Lee explained that the reunion wasn’t initially planned as a major global trek. It began simply with the two friends reconnecting musically.
“What started this whole thing is [Alex and I] started jamming, and the jams were kind of interesting, but in the middle of it, after we sort of got tired of jamming, we said, ‘Well, let’s play a Rush song.’ And then it changed the subject. So we got to the point with that where it was either we’re going to follow through on this or we’re never gonna talk about it again, because you can caught in this thing, ‘Shall we? Shall we not? Shall we? Shall we not?’ And for me, it was, we’re not getting any younger. If we’re gonna do it, let’s do it now, or let’s just not do it.”
Joining them is German drummer Anika Nilles, who was recommended to Lee by his bass tech, John “Skully” McIntosh, following a tour with the late Jeff Beck.
“My bass tech Skully [John McIntosh] — he hates when I tell this story, but he had been on tour with Jeff Beck; he worked for Jeff Beck for the last three, four tours before [Jeff] sadly passed away. And on the last tour, there was a drummer, Anika Nilles. And he came back from that tour just raving about how great she was and how nice she was. And he said, ‘Well, if you ever decide to do a solo project or something with Al, think about it.’ So here it was. I had done some investigation about her — I’d watched her videos and listened to her play — and she’s deeply talented. And so I brought her up to Al, and he went out and did his own research on her and came back and said, ‘Wow, she’s great.’ So we just arranged a Zoom call with her, and it went really well. And we said, ‘Would you come to Canada very quietly and jam with us for a few days and play a few Rush songs and see how that goes?’ She said, ‘Sure, I’d love to.’ And that’s how it all began. And by the end of five days, we sort of had a drummer.”
Lee acknowledged the immense pressure Nilles faces in stepping in for the late Neil Peart, but expressed total confidence in her abilities.
“And it’s a lot for Anika to take on. Even though we’re rusty on some songs, they’re lying in the grooves in the brain somewhere, and it comes back. But she’s starting from scratch. And she’s starting from scratch trying to fill the shoes of a guy whose shoes are impossible to fill. So she has her work cut out for her. But she’s incredibly, deeply talented, both technically and from a musical knowledge standpoint. She’s got a fantastic work ethic. She’s easy to be around. She’s a great person, and she’s ready to take on the inevitable scrutiny of Rush fans. And so far they’ve been very welcoming, they’ve been very warm, and she’s really appreciative of that.”
Fans attending the “Fifty Something” tour can expect a deep dive into the band’s catalog. Lee confirmed they are preparing around 40 songs to allow for significant setlist variations night to night.
“We’re gonna do two sets. Each set will be about an hour, a bit more. So we’ll end up playing around two hours, 15, 20 minutes, something like that, with an intermission, of course. And in each of those sets, we’ll take a song and do a bit of our own way of tributing to [late Rush drummer] Neil [Peart]. And, of course, his presence will be throughout the evening.”
He continued: “Anika knows about 25 songs now. We’ve had numerous rehearsals with her. And we just let her know yesterday that we’ve added another song to the set. So we’re gonna hope to learn around 40 songs, and we will change the set every day a little bit, but 40% of the set will be different from night to night to night to night.”
Lifeson added:
“So many Rush fans go to multiple shows. So it’s nice to provide a difference for each of those sets on a five-night cycle.”
The tour, which includes keyboardist Loren Gold (The Who, Roger Daltrey), has grown exponentially from its humble origins due to massive fan demand.
“Originally the tour we wanted to do was just going to be six or seven cities and we would thought we’d do these small residencies,” Lee explained. “And when we announced it, people went crazy, and we were taken aback. Our new management was very heartened and very bullish. They thought the shows would do well, obviously, but we didn’t expect them to sell out in a few days. It was insanity. And so we had not been prepared for anything beyond that… So it’s a lot to take on. We haven’t done a tour that big in many years, so we’re just gonna make sure that it is effing note perfect.”
Rush “Fifty Something” 2026 Tour Dates:
- June 7, 9, 11, 13 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum (Sold Out)
- June 18 – Mexico City, MX – Palacio de los Deportes (Sold Out)
- June 20 – Mexico City, MX – Palacio de los Deportes (New Date)
- June 24, 26, 28, 30 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena (Sold Out)
- July 16, 18, 20, 22 – Chicago, IL – United Center (Sold Out)
- July 28, 30, Aug. 1, 3 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden (Sold Out)
- Aug. 7, 9, 11, 13 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena (Sold Out)
- Aug. 21 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
- Aug. 23 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena (New Date)
- Aug. 26 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
- Aug. 28 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena (New Date)
- Sep. 2 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
- Sep. 4 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre (New Date)
- Sep. 12 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
- Sep. 14 – Boston, MA – TD Garden (New Date)
- Sep. 17, 19 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena (Sold Out)
- Sep. 23 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center
- Sep. 25 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center (New Date)
- Oct. 5 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
- Oct. 7 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena (New Date)
- Oct. 10 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
- Oct. 12 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena (New Date)
- Oct. 15 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
- Oct. 17 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center (New Date)
- Oct. 25 – Washington D.C. – Capital One Arena
- Oct. 27 – Washington D.C. – Capital One Arena (New Date)
- Oct. 30 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
- Nov. 1 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena (New Date)
- Nov. 5 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
- Nov. 7 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live (New Date)
- Nov. 9 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena
- Nov. 11 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena (New Date)
- Nov. 20 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
- Nov. 22 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center (New Date)
- Nov. 25 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
- Nov. 27 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena (New Date)
- Dec. 1 – Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
- Dec. 3 – Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena (New Date)
- Dec. 10 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
- Dec. 12 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place (New Date)
- Dec. 15 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
- Dec. 17 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena (New Date)
Rush “Fifty Something” 2027 UK And European Tour:
- February 19: Paris, FRA – La Défense Arena
- February 21: Berlin, GER – Uber Arena
- February 23: Amsterdam, NED – Ziggo Dome
- February 25: Munich, GER – Olympiahalle
- February 28: Cologne, GER – LANXESS Arena
- March 2: Hamburg, GER – Barclays Arena
- March 4: Stuttgart, GER – Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
- March 8: Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
- March 12: Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
- March 16: London, UK – The O2 Arena
- March 18: London, UK – The O2 Arena
- March 27: Kraków, POL – Arena Kraków
- March 30: Milan, ITA – Unipol Dome
- April 1: Basel, SWI – St. Jakobshalle
- April 4: Copenhagen, DEN – Royal Arena
- April 6: Oslo, NOR – Unity Arena
- April 8: Stockholm, SWE – Avicii Arena
- April 10: Helsinki, FIN – Veikkaus Arena
Rush “Fifty Something” 2027 South America Dates:
- January 15: Buenos Aires, AR
- January 22: Curitiba, BR
- January 24: São Paulo, BR
- January 30: Rio De Janeiro, BR
- February 01: Belo Horizonte, BR
- February 04: Brasília, BR
