Happy New Year everyone! 2025 is now in the books and Rush fans have a lot to look forward to in the New Year with Rush's first tour in over a decade. Rush's Fifty Something tour will kick off in Los Angeles this coming June, and finish up towards the end of 2026 on December 17th in Vancouver. Although it's unlikely that more US/Canada dates will be added at this point, additional legs outside of North America are planned, as Ged mentioned in an interview with the Globe and Mail back in October, saying that they are mulling the idea of extending the tour even further, outside of North America:
The tour has yet to begin, but already there is no end in sight, with concerts in Europe, South America and Asia being considered. "We're wrestling with extending the tour into 2027," Lee said. "I really don't know. We'll see how that all shakes down."
Now that the New Year is upon us and the Holidays are winding down, an announcement may be coming sooner than later. Just last month Rolling Stone magazine's Brazil edition reported earlier this month that outgoing president of the Brazilian Football Club Grêmio stated in a press conference that Rush is slated to play the Arena do Grêmio a year from now in January of 2027, with a potential announcement coming soon. From the article (translated from Portuguese):
... It appears that a new leg of the tour should be confirmed soon, and Brazil is reportedly on the route. The information came from a source that, at least initially, seemed unlikely. On Monday, December 8th, the now former president of Grêmio, Alberto Guerra, ended his three-year term at an event inaugurating his successor, Odorico Roman. When announcing a series of offers made to the football club, he ended up "revealing" the existence of a proposal for the Grêmio Arena to host a concert by the Canadian group. Guerra even mentioned a date: January 21st, probably in 2027. He also said the show would generate R$1.5 million in revenue. The offer is on the table for the current management. There was no mention of other cities that might host Rush. It should also be noted that this information has not been confirmed by the band or national production companies.
As the article states, this is unconfirmed and just a rumor at this point, but still good to hear if you are a South American Rush fan. Rumblings regarding other shows outside North America are also starting to pick up, so stay tuned. Exciting times ahead! Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson took some time out to post a New Year's video message to Instagram, which you can check out here:
The final season of Netflix's mega-hit show Stranger Things was rolled out over the Holidays, with the 1st 4 episodes released on Thanksgiving, episodes 5-7 on Christmas, and the finale on New Year's Eve. Throughout Season 5 the gang uses the old WSQK radio station (The Squawk) as their base of operations, and several Rush fans noticed that there was a Rush Signals poster at the 27-minute mark of Episode 6 (Escape from Camazotz). The poster is seen on the door of the radio station where Eleven, Mike, Joyce and Hopper are strategizing their next move. Coincidentally, the line Hopper says as the poster is seen in the background is, Or ... we improve your signal. You can check it out right around the 27-minute mark of the episode here (subscription required). The poster can also be seen later in the episode and briefly during the finale. There have been a couple of other Rush references on the show - both occurring in Season 4. During the Season 4 premiere (Hellfire Club), right around the 11-minute mark, Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) is dispersing pot smoke in his bedroom using Rush's debut album cover as seen here. Then in Episode 4 that same copy of Rush's debut album can be seen on the floor of Will's room as displayed in this screenshot
A new documentary on iconic Toronto radio station CFNY (the inspiration behind Rush's The Spirit of Radio) has been in the works for 3 years now, and it will finally be seeing the light of day this coming Tuesday, January 6th. The film documents the station's Spirit of Radio years (1976-1991-ish) and features Rush's Geddy Lee among many others. From executive producer Alan Cross:
... TVO Docs acquired the rights from HighballTV and has committed to multiple showings of the doc on TVO in Ontario and through its streaming app. The doc features staffers from the era along with appearances by Jim Kerr (Simple Minds), Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order), Lol Tolhurst (The Cure), Andy McClusky (OMD), Steve Page (Barenaked Ladies), Emily Haines (Metric), Ben Kowalewicz (Billy Talent), Deryck Whibley (Sum 41), and many others.
Is Geddy Lee in the film? Absolutely! Rush's global hit, "The Spirit of Radio" was inspired by what was coming out of that little yellow house and, later, the top floor of a strip mall at 83 Kennedy Road South in Brampton. And yes, Rush let us use the song. Why not? They're fans.
If you're in Toronto, listen to 102.1 The Edge (still CFNY, but with a new nickname) and Q107 to win tickets to a special pre-premiere screening in the private theatre at Corus Quay on Monday, January 5.
CFNY: The Spirit of Radio is directed by Matt Schichter and produced by Matthew Campagna for HighballTV. Executive producers are me, Barbara Hall, Chantal Jackson, Ivar Hamilton and Scot Turner. ...
The film's trailer also prominently features Rush, Geddy Lee and Rush's The Spirit of Radio as seen here.
Three 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 next Saturday, January 10th. Like the previous 3 years, the show will be "In Celebration of Neil Peart", and feature YYNOT along with special guests, and all proceeds going to support cancer charities. 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). You can check out some of videos from previous events on YYNOT's YouTube channel here, and tickets are available for purchase via AXS.com.
Yesterday Modern Drummer magazine announced that winner of the 2025 Neil Peart Spirit of Drumming Scholarship was drummer Steven Malek. The Scholarship was originally announced at the 2020 Modern Drummer Festival by Carrie Nuttall-Peart, and Modern Drummer has been handing it out to one lucky up-and-coming drummer annually since 2021. It provides the recipient with 52 weeks of free drum lessons from world-class drum instructors, along with a 1 year subscription to Modern Drummer All Access, and a selection of classic Rush album releases from Universal Music Enterprises.
22 years ago on New Year's Day 2004, the security level in Harvey Birdman's office building is raised to Moving Pictures (SCARY!), their highest level, as seen in this clip:
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend and a great 2026 everybody!!!
