After their highly successful 4-night Fifty Something tour opening stint in LA last week, Rush picked things back up yesterday evening with an unforgettable show in Mexico City; the band's first performance in Mexico since the Vapor Trails tour. Mexican fans were treated to essentially the same setlist as was played in LA on night 3 with the exception of one of the encore songs. This meant that they got to see the whole of Moving Pictures performed, New World Man, La Villa Strangiato and many other highlights. The only difference being the substitution of Finding My Way for By-tor and the Snow Dog as the opening encore song; you can check out the full setlist here, and full coverage in this post. Despite a few minor technical issues and a late start, the show went off without a hitch. One item of note however, was the absence of any tourbooks at the merch stands; apparently they did't have any available at the show due to production issues. From what we know, the LA tourbooks include tour rehearsal photos and were a one-off exclusive for LA. The standard tourbooks were supposed to include photos from the LA shows, so I imagine the tight timeframe caused the delay, and it's possible they'll have them for tomorrow's show. Despite the lack of tourbooks, they did have some great merch available, including an exclusive World Cup t-shirt available only at the Mexico City shows. The band will play one more show in Mexico City tomorrow night before taking a short, 4-day break and picking things back up in Texas, where they'll play another 4-night stint at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth starting next Wednesday, June 24th. Rush posted the following message to social media this morning, thanking fans and showing off a few great photos and video clips:
What a night! The excitement was palpable! Historic win by Canada 6-0 right before we went on stage, then Mexico won their World Cup match ! And we got to play for you, the most joyful fans! After that, the streets were ALIVE all night - incredible celebrations everywhere! See you again this Saturday!
Although the band did play Time Stand Still last night as they have every night so far on the tour, they were missing Aimee Mann this time on backing vocals. Mann is based out of LA and performed at all 4 shows there, but fans were wondering whether she'd be back for any other shows at some point. She answered those questions and more this past week in a couple of interviews where she discussed her experience. Mann is also working on a graphic memoir and sometimes draws comics about her life and publishes them on Instagram, as she did this past week with this comic describing her experience playing with Rush. She talks about the comic and her whole experience on the ROCKTAILS with Ahmet Zappa podcast, including how it all came about, and her recollections regarding when the song was recorded back in 1986. But for most of the interview they spoke about Geddy's bass playing; Mann is also a bass player, and was extremely impressed with Geddy's playing - comparing his fingers to a badger digging a hole! You can listen to the entire 13-minute interview below or on YouTube. Mann also sat down for a short interview with Vulture.com where she addresses whether she'll play with Rush again, and lets slip a bit of inside information on where Rush might be planning to film some shows:
... I'm going to try to [do more shows]. They're doing some filming in Cleveland, so I'm probably going to the Cleveland shows. They're going to be on tour for, what, a full year? I would love to do more. I just got a million fucking things I'm doing, so I don't know how practical it is, but if I have the time, I'm up for it. ...
So it certainly sounds like we'll be seeing Mann perform again at some point, specifically in Cleveland. Rush filmed their Time Machine DVD in Cleveland, so it's surprising that they'd choose to film there again, but - as a Clevelander myself - I'm not complaining! The band typically likes to wait until the tour is well underway and they've perfected the show (and their playing chops) until they film, which is why they might not be choosing to film in one of the bigger markets like Toronto, NYC, or Chicago. Cleveland had also been the original close out city for the tour before they expanded it, so they may have already had those plans in the works. Mann also summed up her experience with this quote at the end of the interview:
... I was 26 years old when I recorded [Time Stand Still]. And when you're 26, you're like, Oh, this is totally a metaphysical rumination on the nature of time. That's interesting. But when you're in your sixties, it's like, The moment is now, man. This is it. This is happening. You have to be present. I think that's why being onstage for that moment was so moving. It was also very moving to me because when I recorded with them and spent some time with them doing the music video. I really liked those guys. Then they're on tour, I'm on tour, and they live in Toronto. We don't live in the same place, and I never saw them again. It was always a little heartbreaking, to be honest. To reconnect with them like this is like, having time folded onto itself, it was really lovely.
Just like the band themselves, RushCon is returning for 2026 after a decade-long hiatus. RushCon 2026 will take place in its traditional home of Toronto later this summer over the weekend of August 7-9, coinciding with the band's hometown tour stops. And earlier this week they announced some exciting new guests for the festivities to fill the slot they had for Nick Raskulinecz, who had to cancel. The trio of new guests are the 3 actors that appear in Rush's new Xanadudes tour intro video. Kate, Taylor, and David will be on hand to share their stories and experience of shooting with the band as seen in this Instagram post. The festivities will begin Friday evening with a welcome party and pre-show hangout at The Loose Moose. The main event will take place on Saturday at The El Mocambo with games, contests, guest speakers, and more, along with a Sunset Boat Cruise in the Toronto Harbor in the evening. Sunday will include a closing party and pre-show hangout at Henderson Brewing. You can get all the details and purchase tickets at RushCon.org. This won't be the only RushCon event on the tour however; they'll also be hosting a Madison Square Garden pre-show party on Saturday August 1st - the day of the 3rd of 4 MSG shows - with tickets available here. The event will take place at The Rutherford with exact timing TBD.
A new Rush-themed podcast from Pantheon Media titled Why Rush Matters debuted last week and is now available for listening wherever you get your podcasts. The show is the brainchild of Buffalo-based music journalist Jeff Miers and Rush historian/archivist Ray Wawrzyniak. From the press release:
... Each episode of Why Rush Matters will explore Rush from multiple angles: the musical architecture, lyrical themes, album histories, live performances, creative risks, fan culture, and personal connections that have made the band a permanent part of so many lives. The show will feature conversations with musicians influenced by Rush, guests from the band's extended universe, writers, historians, collectors, and fans with stories worth hearing. For Wawrzyniak, the podcast is both a tribute and a continuing investigation. "Rush rewards attention," he said. "You can spend a lifetime with this band and still find something new in the records, the arrangements, the lyrics, the interviews, the tours, and the way fans carry this music with them. That's what makes this show exciting. We're not just revisiting Rush. We're listening again, with fresh ears." ...
The debut episode dropped last Thursday, June 11th and features Jeff and Ray discussing their personal Rush origin stories, the albums that hit them hardest, and what it means, decades later, to still feel the music the way they did the first time. You can watch the debut episode below or on YouTube.
For the past 6 years, on Neil Peart's birthday, RUSHfest Scotland has sponsored the release of an album of Rush songs dedicated to the iconic drummer titled TRIBUTES - SONGS FOR NEIL, played by Rush tribute bands and musicians from around the world, with proceeds from the sales going to support Cancer charities. They are continuing the tradition this year with SONGS FOR NEIL VOL. 7, which will release this coming September 12th in celebration of what would have been Neil's 74th birthday. Like all the previous volumes, this seventh volume will feature artwork from Hugh Syme, and they are now taking pre-orders. Volume 7 will be available double-CD, vinyl, and/or digital download, and you can pre-order now via this link.
Author Michael Chabon - who also happens to be a childhood friend of both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson - attended one of the LA shows and wrote about it on his popular Tragic Magic substack:
... it was also unexpectedly moving, and beautiful, to watch the interplay between Rush's old bassist and its new drummer, every time Lee wandered over to that skyline of drums, bells, and cymbals to check in with his battery-mate. Moving, because it was the habit of half a century, of more than two-thirds of his lifetime-the veteran engineer making the rounds, checking the dials, tapping the gauges, and because he still could not seem to fully grasp or get his head around the fact that the person in that city of drums, making all that organized noise, was not a stern, strapping, self-contained, stoic, intermittently mustached rock'n'roll philosopher but a slender young woman with a blond ponytail who visibly took pleasure-sometimes joyful, sometimes verging on impish-in holding fast to the sweet spot between atomic-clock precision and atom-bomb power.
You could see Lee, on the Jumbotron, marveling at that power and precision, and at the grit and guts and (justified) faith in her own talent Nilles had needed to dare replace the irreplaceable Peart. Marveling at all the changes that had taken place in his and the band's life since 2020 and 2016 and 1980 and 1976. Marveling at the very fact of change itself. And then he would give Nilles one of those aforementioned astonished grins.
And beautiful, and moving, finally, because now as she picked up on what this old dude-one of the greatest rock bassists ever! Her battery-mate!-was throwing down, the young drummer grinned right back at him.
Rush fan and former host of the 2 Guys Talking Rush podcast - John Kane - wrote a piece for the New Hampshire Union Leader this past week on his thoughts regarding Rush's return to the stage without the late Neil Peart:
... In the end, Rush has always been about movement. Growth requires change, which often brings discomfort. The irony is that the same music that taught me to embrace transformation also makes it difficult to watch transformation unfold without its most essential member. Perhaps that is part of Peart's final lesson - a reminder that life itself is an ongoing reinvention. For longtime fans, that truth can be hard to accept. But watching a new generation engage with the spirit of music that shaped my life, I return once more to the words that have followed me for decades: "Changes aren't permanent, but change is."
Ultimate-guitar.com posted a great breakdown of Rush's classic instrumental track YYZ this past week with the title Rush's 'YYZ' Riff Looks Simple on Paper, but It's a Brutal Test of Your Picking Hand.
Ultimate Classic Rock posted an article this past week where they attempt to reduce Rush's 19 studio albums to 4 that define the band. You can check out what they came up with at this location
With all the scrutiny that Rush's setlists have been getting over the past couple of weeks, Classic Rock magazine decided to take a look at all the songs that Rush has never played live. They claim the band has never played 42 of their 167 studio tracks, which is probably very close to being correct. You can check out their album-by-album breakdown here.
The Radius Drums YouTube channel posted a great and very detailed breakdown of Anika Nilles' drum kit this past week, which you can check out below:
Anika Nilles just made her live debut with Rush on the "Fifty Something" tour - and the kit she built for it is an absolute monster. In this video I break down every piece of gear she's running: her Tama STAR bubinga shell pack, her snare situation, her stick specs, and all pieces of her Meinl cymbal and percussion setup. This isn't her compact STAR Bubinga rig. This is a full orchestral drum system built to cover Neil Peart's catalog and it shows. Whether you're a Rush die-hard, an Anika fan, or just a drum nerd who wants to geek out on a world-class setup, this one's for you.
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!!
