Just a couple of weeks after announcing the addition of a Chile date at the Estadio Bicentenario La Florida in Santiago to the South American leg of their Fifty Something tour, Rush has added a second show at the venue 2 days after the first for January 19th. This brings the total number of South American dates to 9, and the total for the entire tour to an impressive 88 shows! Tickets go on sale this coming Wednesday, April 29th at 11AM Chile time. The tour itself kicks off in just over 6 weeks from now (!!!) on June 7th in LA. The band hit the PR circuit a few weeks ago following their JUNOs appearance to promote the tour, including a cover feature in the latest edition of PROG magazine. The cover includes a photo of Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee with their double-neck guitars, with a tagline reading, RUSH are back and they're loving every minute of it, along with the featured quote, "We're an overnight sensation, 50 years in the making". The feature includes a new interview with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson titled Making Memories, where the pair discuss the chain of events that led them to their decision to dust off their instruments and hit the road once again. Also included is an article titled The Curious Case Of Roger Kneebend!: Revisiting Grace Under Pressure which explores the making of the band's Grace Under Pressure album, one of the band's more challenging to record. John at Cygnus-X1.net has transcribed/scanned the entire feature and made it available online here. Here's an excerpt where the pair discuss the band's final show with Neil Peart back in 2015, and their feelings immediately following:

Even after Geddy Lee walked offstage at the end of the very last show on the R40 tour, he wasn't sure that Rush were completely finished. "I had hope," he said. He raises his hand and makes a small gap between his thumb and his finger. "I had that much hope." Alex Lifeson has a different memory of the immediate aftermath of the show.

"I remember going back to the hotel after the gig and there was a bit of a party," he says. "My family were there, my grandkids were there. After they'd all gone to bed, I went out onto my balcony and sat there by myself and had a smoke, feeling very lonely and so melancholy. I was kind of crestfallen by the end. The future seemed so dark."

"I can tell you, the flight home after the show was not a happy place," says Lee. "We were all very, very quiet. I have a photograph that one of our guys took, and you can feel it in that picture."

Over subsequent months, the sliver of hope that Lee initially felt faded. It was clear that Neil Peart wasn't going to change his mind.

"They had filmed the tour and recorded it and they wanted to put it out, so we still had to talk about details around that," says Lee. "But I don't think our hearts were in it. It was hard to focus on. I think, initially, I was a little pissed, a little angry," he continues. "And then I had an email conversation with Neil, because I had listened to the drum solo he had picked. I wrote to him out of the blue and said, 'Dude, it was so fucking good, I'm glad you picked the right one. And it brought up this whole conversation about his new life and how happy he was, and it broke that feeling I had completely: 'What kind of friend are you, being so selfish, thinking about yourself when this guy is so happy now, this is what he wanted and what he needed?"

Lee, an avid ornithologist, immersed himself in bird watching and began working on The Big Beautiful Book Of Bass, the lavish coffee table book-come- love letter to his chosen instrument. Lifeson began working on musical projects of his own.

"And then we got the terrible news in September [2016] that Neil was ill," says Lee. "That scrambled everybody. There was no thought of work."

Lee and Lifeson would meet up from time to time to have dinner, and they would visit Peart to support their old friend. His death, on January 7, 2020, understandably hit them hard. The fact that the Covid pandemic was brewing at the same time only compounded things.

"To have gone through the emotional shock [of Peart's death] and then to be locked up, it was a pretty weird time," says Lee. "So that's when I started writing my memoir, and that really got me through the next couple of years.

I think Al was well into his Envy Of None project at the time, too."

With Peart gone, and his former bandmates immersed in their own projects, that flicker of hope Lee had felt in 2015 that Rush weren't done was finally extinguished.

Until it wasn't.

You can read the entire feature via Cygnus-X1.net. Speaking of new Rush interviews, it looks like Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will be guests on Rick Beato's popular YouTube show sometime in the near future. Beato posted a photo of himself and the boys to Instagram earlier this week teasing the appearance:

Just had the incredible opportunity to sit down with Geddy and Alex from @rush 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Longtime Rush lighting director Howard Ungerleider was a recent guest on the Gib Gab podcast to talk about his long career as Rush's lighting director, and what the band might have in store for fans on their upcoming Fifty Something tour, which Howard says will be something completely different than what I've ever done. You can listen to the entire 1-hour interview below or on YouTube. From the episode description:

Step inside five decades of rock history with lighting legend Howard Ungerleider, the man who's been designing and directing Rush's light shows since 1974. Hear how a $75-a-week mailroom gig at American Talent International - where he pulled off a rogue booking of Fleetwood Mac before he was even an agent - turned into a lifetime behind the console. Get the story of Howard landing in Toronto to babysit "a club band called Rush," sleeping on the floor at the manager's house with a St. Bernard, freezing his hand to a car door at -40 in Cochrane, Ontario, and later jamming with Neil Peart at his house to Genesis and Supertramp records. Howard also talks designing Roll The Bones (the one Rush tour he couldn't operate), embedding at See Factor to build custom gear nobody else could get, and how Blue Öyster Cult first put him in front of a laser: the same craft he now brings to Foo Fighters, Tool, and Janet Jackson.

Then the conversation turns to the upcoming Rush Fifty Something tour - a four-piece now with Anika Nilles on drums and Loren Gold on keys, freeing Geddy to focus on bass and vocals. Learn why Howard still "plays" the lighting console live with two boards and thousands of touch cues, how robotic spots are quietly changing the craft, and why he and Phish's Chris Kuroda will be swapping rigs at Madison Square Garden. You'll also hear the Paul McCartney moment in the Taylor Hawkins tribute dressing room that may have sparked the whole tour, and why Howard insists this is a rejuvenation, a celebration, and proof that no matter the rig, the room, or the era, you've gotta ALWAYS BE PERFORMING.

Because it's what we do.

Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy was recently interviewed for Chile's Sonar FM radio station, and was asked whether he is planning on attending any of the shows on Rush's upcoming tour:

... "Absolutely. I cannot wait to see it. I'm so curious what it's gonna be like. They're one of my favorite bands of all time. And I had the honor of becoming friends with [late RUSH drummer] Neil Peart for the last 10, 15 years of his life. And, yeah, I'm so happy that they're gonna do it again. And I absolutely plan on going to see the shows and supporting them." ... Well, I'm happy to see them reunite. For the fans it's important, because all of the classic bands are going away. RUSH is thankfully coming back, but a year ago if we were having this discussion, we would say there is no RUSH, there is no VAN HALEN, there is no more BLACK SABBATH, SLAYER retired, MEGADETH is retiring, SEPULTURA is retiring. So, yeah, we need our heroes to keep playing if they can, if they're able to. ...

Alex Lifeson's Envy of None bandmate - vocalist Maiah Wynne - has signed with KScope Records and will be releasing her new solo album this summer. According to Blabbermouth.net, the album will be featuring Rush's Alex Lifeson on six of the tracks:

... Wynne's new album sees Lifeson contributing to six tracks.

News of the signing and upcoming album arrives alongside a packed 2026 schedule which includes an extensive run of U.S. shows supporting New York songwriter Shayfer James this month.

Speaking on the signing, Wynne shared: "I am very excited and grateful to be working with Kscope for my next album release. I have loved working with them through ENVY OF NONE and I consider them family now. I know I am in good hands and can't wait to get this next record out."

She added: "This signing is really timely with my move to London and I am looking forward to connecting with the Kscope team more in person and seeing what other opportunities arise while I am there. It's really an honor to be among their lineup of talented artists." ...

Mojotone and Lerxst Amps have have teamed up for a new contest where the winner will get a fully loaded, tour-ready pedalboard powered by Voodoo Lab and packed with iconic Lerxst tone. The premium pedalboard setup includes the Lerxst By-Tor, Snowdog, ATWAS, and a top-secret pedal that launches on May 7th. To enter the contest, you just need to sign up for the Mojotone Newsletter, and like Lerxst Amps on Facebook. The contest will run through May 21st with a winner being announced shortly after. You can all the details at the mojotone website here.

Grunge.com posted an article this past week on The Longest Marriages In Rock 'N' Roll History, and both Geddy Lee's and Alex Lifeson's long marriages to their respective wives made the cut. Geddy Lee and his wife Nancy Young were married on June 20, 1976, and Alex Lifeson and his wife Charlene McNicol got hitched a year earlier on March 12, 1975.

MetalTalk's Paul Hutchings has posted the first installment in his Rush at 50 series, where he speaks to fans, tribute artists, event organizers and music writers to capture what Rush's reunion tour means to those who have lived and breathed Rush for a lifetime. In this initial offering, Hutchings speaks with Rush fan Andy Rawll and you can check it out online here.

15 years ago this past Wednesday, April 22nd, there was a great Rush reference on the Sci-fi TV show Sanctuary (Season 3, Episode 12 - Hangover). Henry is getting access to the Sanctuary server's new passcode after a security breech and the passcode ends up being GEDDYLEE. Dr. Magnus then inquires, "Geddy Lee?", to which Henry responds, "Aha- it's the lead singer of Rush". Dr. Magnus then observes, "Isn't that Will's favorite band?" - which draws them to the conclusion that Will must have reset the passcode.

That's all for this week. Have a great weekend everyone!