For all those who celebrate, I hope everyone had an great Christmas yesterday and are enjoying the Holiday season. As we approach the end of 2025, we have a lot to look forward to as Rush fans in 2026 with Rush's first tour in over a decade. Rush's Fifty Something tour will kick off in Los Angeles next June, and tickets for all 58 shows have now been on sale to the general public for 2 months now. While the initial batch of cities (Toronto, NYC, etc.) sold out quickly, sales for the second batch of dates has not been nearly as robust, with plenty of tickets left. Prices on the secondary markets have settled down as well, so if you missed out during the pre-sales and Santa didn't bring you any tickets yesterday, you have several options. 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."

An announcement may be coming sooner than later, as 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 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 spread across the interwebs as well, so stay tuned.

Collectionzz commemorated International Rush Day (aka 21/12 Day) this past Sunday with a new, officially-licensed, limited-edition poster screenprint by illustrator Miles Tsang - the fourth installment in their 2112 print series, where each print is inspired by one part of the 7-part 2112 suite. The first was their 2020 Temples of Syrinx print, the second was 2021's Oracle: The Dream print, and the third was 2023's Overture. This latest print is inspired by Discovery and was created by artist Miles Tsang. From the artist:

"This is my take on 'Discovery' which depicts a man who finds an ancient guitar in a cave as he begins to play. The man is fully ensconced in the shape of the musical tool he's found, a loose guitar silhouette suggested by the beam of light and surrounding tendrils of energy surrounding the discoverer and warping the area surrounding him with emitted energy. The Chinese money plants at the bottom of the poster arranged to loosely echo Neil Peart's drum kit, so he is present in some form alongside the two guitars in the image.

The man reconnects with the essence of art that's been deprived of him through living in the society under the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx in the year 2112. His expression is one of focus as the spirit of music courses through him, blissfully unaware of the trap he's already in with the grips of the Red Star of the Solar Federation (visually manifested as the star logo he sits upon) that will eventually destroy his means of expression and his soul.

The image pays homage to the classic Starman logo symbolizing the struggle between artless autocracy and the nakedly creative individual." - Miles Tsang

The 18"x24" screenprints come in a main edition for $50 and a Foil Edition for $100. You can purchase these or any other of their many Rush prints at collectionzz.com, although the foil edition has already SOLD OUT.

I'm sad to report that Neil Peart's mother Betty Peart passed away last Friday, December 19th at age 90. Betty's daughter Nancy announced the news via social media earlier this week, and Rush posted their condolences to Instagram shortly after, along with a photo of all three band members with their mothers:

Sending love to the Peart family as Neil's mother Betty passed away at the age of 90 on Dec 19, 2025. Here is a photo of all of us with our Mom's from the early days...💔❤️ - Geddy & Alex

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rush (@rush)

On the latest episode of the Something for Nothing podcast, branding expert Andris Pone joins Steve and Gerry to examine the branding of Rush's Fifty Something tour - giving his unique perspective on how Geddy and Alex are navigating their return to the stage. You can listen to the show below or wherever you get your podcasts:

Reader Rinus let me know of a couple of new books featuring Rush references. Author Kevan Furbank's How Progressive Rock Defied Punk released earlier this month, and it includes a seven-page feature on the Rush's A Farewell to Kings album. Then the financial self-help book Fever Pitch: A Novel About Selling Your Vision, Raising Venture Capital released back in May, and every chapter of the book is named after a Rush song, although there are no other references to the band.

Ultimate Classic Rock published their list of 2025's Top 20 Rock Albums this past week, and Envy of None's Stygian Wavz was included at #12:

The second album from Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson's Envy of None expands on the promise of their 2023 debut by carving more investigative sounds into their hard-rock foundations. Stygian Wavz, like That Was Then, This Is Now, recedes Lifeson to the background, focusing instead on newcomer singer Maiah Wynne, who gives the 11 songs the push and personality that place them firmly in the 21st century.

3 years ago back on Christmas Eve of 2022, Dave Grohl and Jack Black covered Rush's The Spirit of Radio for the 7th night of their Hanukkah Sessions. From the video description:

Geddy Lee's mother was so proud of her son that she put Rush posters up all over their family store and gave away Rush albums to kids who didn't have money to buy them. In tribute to that proud Jewish mother, we give you - free of charge- "The Spirit Of Radio" featuring Jack Black!"

That's all for this week. Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve/Day next week!!