One week ago this past Monday, Rush surprised fans by nearly doubling the number of shows on their upcoming Fifty Something tour for the 2nd time by adding 17 new cities. Then 2 days later they expanded the tour yet again, adding 2nd shows in all of the newly-announced cities plus another in Mexico City, bringing the total to a whopping 58 shows! Pre-sales for those newly-added shows took place over the past week, with the public on-sales kicking off in just over an hour from now at 12PM local venue time. From the online buzz, the pre-sales for this 2nd round went much more smoothly than the first, and there should still be plenty of seats available in the public sale. If you plan to participate, be sure to log on to your Ticketmaster account at least a half hour early to ensure your spot in the queue. I fully expect most of the shows to sell out eventually, although maybe not as quickly as the first batch. But even in that case, there will still be tickets available as Verified Resale Tickets and on the secondary market right up until the day of the show.
Now that the tour itinerary is essentially set, we can take a look at the schedule and see how it all will play out, and whether any more dates/legs might be added. Since the band reformed in 2002 for Vapor Trails, Rush tours have generally been around 40-ish shows, although they would often split that across 2 tours - the Snakes & Arrows tour had one marathon, 64-date tour in 2007, then they returned for a 49-date tour in 2008 (to support Snakes & Arrows Live). They did something similar for the Time Machine and Clockwork Angels tours. They would then split those 40-ish show tours into 2 or 3 legs with a week or 2 off in between. They would also always give themselves at least one night off between shows, and rarely play more than 1 show in any given city (Toronto being the one exception). The Fifty Something tour stands to be a bit different, with the band playing at least 2 shows in every city, with at least 3-4 days off between cities, and a day off between shows in a given city, spreading the 58 shows out over a nearly 7-month period. This seems to be their intention - to give themselves a bit of rest between cities, so it's unlikely they'll squeeze in any more. Although there are a few spots where that break between cities is more like 7-10 days. In those cases, they could theoretically add 2 shows in another city, and still have at least a 2-day break on either end. The band has 16 days off between Fort Worth and Chicago in the first half of July, 8 days between Toronto and Philly in mid-August, 8 days between Montreal and Boston in early September, 10 days between San Antonio and Denver in late September, 8 days between San Jose and DC in mid October, 9 days between Tampa and Charlotte in mid-November, and 7 days between Glendale and Edmonton in early December. Again, this may all be by design in order to give the band and crew some needed breaks here and there, but nothing about this tour has followed past patterns, so anything could happen. But what about Europe? Although those 7-10 day breaks could work to squeeze in a couple North American shows, that's not enough time to fly over the pond and play more than just a couple shows - even that 16-day break isn't quite enough. So if they do decide to do a European leg - something that I expect to happen with all I've been hearing - it will likely be in 2027 AFTER the North American leg, with the Spring being most likely. It's unclear when that announcement might occur however, so stay tuned.
Geddy Lee was recently interviewed for a piece in the Toronto Star to discuss baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays and his new baseball book 72 Stories from the Collection of Geddy Lee, which released last month and tells the stories behind much of the baseball memorabilia Lee has in his collection:
I started this book a couple of years ago when I had made the decision - the difficult decision - to sell many things from my collection. So before letting those things leave my house, a friend of mine said, 'You know, you should write some of your favourite stories from these items.' Because I'm always telling stories about this item or that item as a kind of keepsake. So I originally did it as a memory book. I started just writing down items I had and it totaled up to 72 of my favorite stories. So it was just a random number. They were the most interesting stories to me. And I originally was just going to privately publish it on our website, for fun. And our publisher, HarperCollins, who have published both my other books, got sent a copy and they just loved it. And they said, 'Let us release this wider. I think baseball fans would really dig it.'"
Ged also talks about how the Jays' have captivated the city of Toronto and why he loves baseball so much:
First of all, there's so much time to mull it over. It's a slow game. It's a slow burn. And there's something in almost every ball game that I have never seen before. Like, for example, that that playoff game the other day where Josh Naylor (Seattle Mariners) jumped into the air, flipped around and took that double play ball off his helmet. I've never seen that before! There's nuances that happen in every game that make it different from all the others. So I became addicted to the grace of a double play, the glide of someone sliding into second base, the sheer power of sitting close to the catcher and feeling that 95 mile an hour fastball barely grazing a batter's body. And that's ferocity. The game has a combination of grace and ferocity. And at times it is simply balletic. And I just can't think of another sport that encumbers all of that.
You can read the entire interview online here. There's also this short interview with the Canadian Press where Ged fanboys about the Jays' World Series berth. Speaking of which, Sportsnet produced a Blue Jays hype video to open up the World Series narrated by Geddy Lee and using Rush's Limelight as background music. Last week Geddy was a guest on the CBC's Hanomansing Tonight to talk about the Toronto Blue Jays and the World Series, along with some comments about Rush's upcoming tour and new drummer Anika Nilles:
... it was a very difficult decision to go back on the road, and that was the main stumbling block, obviously. How do we replace the irreplaceable, so to speak? And we have been fortunate to have been introduced to the name Anika Nilles through one of my road crew - my bass tech Skully, who was on tour with Jeff Beck, and she was the drummer for Jeff Beck on his last tour. And he came home from that tour raving about her. And so when we made the decision to see what it's like to play with another drummer, we contacted her, and she's just a fantastic person. And she came to Canada and we very surreptitiously snuck into a studio and worked out for about a week. And by the end of it, we were convinced that this would be a go for us. Yeah, she's just a tremendous player."... When [Anika] first came over here [to Canada], we started playing some of the songs, trying to translate RUSH music to someone who didn't really grow up as a RUSH fan; she was not a RUSH fan. She knew, of course, of Neil's playing - every drummer knows who Neil is, or Neil was, I should say - so it was a bit of a daunting task. And we had to go through each song and explain the nuances of the song and the idiosyncratic nature of how our songs are put together. So at times she was a bit overwhelmed, but she's an incredibly hard worker. She's got great technical facility and she's just got a really positive attitude, and that's really good for Alex and I to be around right now." ...
You can watch the entire interview below or on YouTube. Ged has attended most of the World Series games thus far, and even went out to LA to watch the marathon, 18-inning Game 3 with RHCP drummer Chad Smith, as Ged describes in this Instagram post:
Guitarist Tom Morello (RaTM, Audioslave) is currently on a solo tour, and played a show last Tuesday in Neil Peart's hometown of St. Catharines at Partridge Hall. The band had several days off until their next show in Montreal, so Morello took some time to hang out with his buddy Alex Lifeson in Toronto. Lifeson showed Morello his vintage Gibson ES-335, prompting this Instagram post where he gushes over the guitar:
Got to hang with the lovely Alex Lifeson @thereallerxst in Toronto and check out the original @rush guitar(!!) that played on so many of my all time favorite songs and albums. THRILLED that Rush are going on tour again and can't wait to see them.
Rush beer makers Henderson Brewing unveiled their 4th limited-edition Rush beer Holiday pack earlier this month. The pack includes Rush Canadian Golden Ale in 3 specially-designed cans celebrating the classic Rush albums Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, and Signals, plus one standard Starman can, all packaged in a decorative box. The packs are now available to purchase via shophendersonbrewing.com (can't ship to the US unfortunately) or at the Brewery's Toronto location. You can check out all the Rush beers and merch Henderson has to offer at shophendersonbrewing.com.
Envy of None released their second album Stygian Wavz back in March via Kscope Records, and last month the project released The Thrill - a 3-track single including an alternative version of Stygian Wavz's 4th track Thrill of the Chase, a demo version, and the album track itself. In addition to a digital release, they will also be releasing The Thrill as a 12" colored vinyl version with all proceeds donated to UNHCR's response to the Ukraine emergency - available exclusively from the band's merch store here. The vinyl release was slated to ship out around November 1st, so those who ordered a copy should start receiving them soon if they haven't already. Vocalist Maiah Wynne was a recent guest on WRIF's Talkin' with Meltdown to talk about the project, and what it's like to work with Alex Lifeson. She also talks about Rush's upcoming tour and whether she plans to take in some shows:
... Yes. I hope I can get extra tickets. I am very excited. It'll be my first time seeing RUSH live. So I'm very excited about the opportunity. And, um, it's just, it's already becoming such a huge tour that I just know it's going to be such a beautiful experience. And, I know they have such incredible fans, too. Like everybody that I've talked to who has been a long-time RUSH fan is like, I've seen them 87 times. Wow, that's so amazing! ...
The Rheostatics will be releasing their new album The Great Lakes Suite featuring Rush's Alex Lifeson 3 weeks from today on November 21st. That same weekend the band (including Alex) will be hosting a pair of SOLD OUT shows at TD Music Hall in Toronto where they'll be performing the album live. Two weeks ago they announced the album release along with the debut of the album's first single, Inland Sea. From v13.net:
... The album celebrates the influential band's incredible 45-year anniversary, and features 18 tracks of primarily improvised music and spoken word, performed by longtime members Dave Bidini, Dave Clark, Don Kerr, and Tim Vesely, with newer additions Kevin Hearn and Hugh Marsh, alongside legendary guitarist Alex Lifeson.
The single "Inland Sea" arrives today, a shimmering reflection on the mystery and majesty of the Great Lakes, accompanied by a whimsical video directed and animated by JUNO Award-winning filmmaker and illustrator Sarah Legault. The piece weaves together historic maritime paintings by Robert McGreevy with artwork by Kevin Hearn, Jared Tait, Martin Tielli, and John Sherbourne, creating a dreamlike voyage.
Two years ago on the 3rd anniversary of Neil Peart's passing, Rush tribute band YYNOT held a charity concert dubbed Bubba Bash in celebration of The Professor at the Keswick Theatre outside Philly (Glenside, PA). The event was such a huge success that they've made it an annual thing, with Bubba Bash 2026 slated to take place at the Keswick Theatre in Philly on Saturday, January 10th. Tickets for the show go on sale are now available for purchase. Like the previous 3 years, the show will be "In Celebration of Neil Peart", and feature YYNOT along with special guests (TBA) with all proceeds going to support cancer charities. You can check out some of videos from previous events below or on YYNOT's YouTube channel here. Some more details were released this past week via Facebook, including a list of new guest artists, and a fancy new flier. In addition to YYNOT and returning artists, the new artists for this year will be Mike Orlando (Adrenaline Mob, Category 7), Fer Velasco (Rush Monterrey Tribute, Mexico), Greg Russell (Natural Science), Jack Gibson (Exodus, Category 7) and Tyme Rogers (Tech 21 NYC).
Skunk Anansie guitarist Ace is interviewed in the latest issue of Prog magazine, and spoke a bit about the profound influence Rush, particularly their Moving Pictures album, had on him as a musician:
"I was about 12 or 13 when NWOBHM came along and I started learning guitar, and Rush's Moving Pictures came out about then. I bought it, and I instantly fell in love with Tom Sawyer; then I got into Limelight, but I really loved the whole album ... When I was learning to play guitar, Rush were just too hard, so I started learning from Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Motörhead. But Rush did teach me about songwriting and storytelling. And because the songs on Moving Pictures weren't too long, I think I took that on in my psyche as a musician - catchy stuff with amazing sounds, really well recorded and really well played."
Drummer Mike Portnoy was recently interviewed for Ultimate-guitar.com and was asked about the influence of Neil Peart on his style of drumming:
"Well, even though I grew up with Neil and he was one of my biggest heroes and Dream Theater's music is very closely interwoven with Rush's music, they were such a big, big influence on us, all of that aside, I think we're very, very different players, to be honest."
"The things I got from Neil were the big, giant drum kit. I used to stare at the pictures of his drum kit and just imagine all of those things on a drum set. Also, the way that he was so musical with the way he constructed his drum parts, the way that they developed from section to section to section on such a musical level. I think that was the stuff that really inspired me."
"But like I mentioned, I think we're very different players. I'm way more rooted in metal. I bring the Lars Ulrich and Vinnie Paul elements to Dream Theater, whereas Neil was a little bit more grounded in traditional Prog."
"Also, Neil was very, very methodical in terms of always playing his drum parts the same consistently every night. He was great at that, being able to play consistently. I'm horrible at that. I need to be able to just be in the moment and just jam."
"So I bring a little bit more of a looser kind of Lars Ulrich style to my playing. You know, I'm somewhere between Lars and Neil, for better or for worse."
Pierre Robert, a rock radio legend and longtime DJ on Philadelphia's WMMR, passed away this past Wednesday at age 70. Robert was a friend of Geddy Lee, and conducted the fan Q&A at Ged's My Effin Life book signing tour stop in Philly. Ged posted a photo from that evening, along with short tribute to his Instagram earlier today:
THE WORLD SERIES IS BACK IN TORONTO!!! 🗣️
- Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 24, 2025
Geddy Lee and Rush set the scene for Game 1 live on Sportsnet 📺 pic.twitter.com/hq7SMzObAL
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend and a happy Halloween everybody!
