On Monday, October 6, Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson revealed the thrilling news that they were relaunching the band with new drummer Anika Nilles for a 2026 North American trek dubbed the Fifty Something Tour. Twelve concerts in seven cities were initially announced, and now Rush has added 11 additional shows at most of those same venues “due to incredible demand.”
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The band has added two more concerts in Inglewood, California; Fort Worth, Texas; Chicago; New York City; and Toronto. One additional show has also been scheduled in Cleveland. The tour now features four concerts each in the first six aforementioned cities, as well as two in Cleveland, and one in Mexico City.
The Fifty Something trek kicks off June 7 at the Kia Forum in the Los Angles suburb of Inglewood and is plotted out through the newly added September 19 show in Cleveland.
As previously announced, the tour will celebrate Rush’s 50-plus-year career as well as pay tribute to the band’s late longtime drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. Peart died of an aggressive form of brain cancer in January 2020 at age 67.
The Fifty Something outing will mark Rush’s first tour since the Canadian power trio wrapped up its R40 trek in August 2015.
Information About Purchasing Tickets
Rush tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, October 17, at 12 p.m. local time for shows in the U.S. and Canada, and at 11 a.m. local time for the Mexico City concert. A variety of pre-sale tickets will be made available, starting on October 10 at 12 p.m. local time for Citi card members in the U.S. and American Express members in Canada.
Fans interested in participating in the Rush artist pre-sale can sign up online at Ticketmaster.com by Thursday, October 9, at 11:59 p.m. ET. VIP experiences and travel packages also will be available. For full details about purchasing tickets for the tour dates, visit Rush.com or LiveNationEntertainment.com.
Those interested in buying tickets early may also want to check StubHub.
More About the Fifty Something Tour
After Peart’s death, Lee and Lifeson said in multiple interviews that they were unsure about whether they would tour or make new music together again. The veteran rockers did play occasional special events, including the star-studded 2023 tribute concerts for late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins in London and L.A.
In a video announcement, Lee and Lifeson explained that those shows, as well as the regular jam sessions they had in Geddy’s rehearsal studio, helped ignite their desire to tour as Rush again.
For a new drummer, Lee revealed that his longtime bass tech, “Skully,” suggested he check out Nilles. Nilles is an acclaimed German drummer and composer who played in Jeff Beck’s band during the British guitar legend’s final tour in 2022.
In the video announcement, Geddy noted that when he and Lifeson rehearsed with Nilles, “[it] started to put a charge in us when we heard our songs coming back to life.” He continued, “And it was only once we had those successful rehearsal sessions with her that made me feel like, yes, we can do this and we can do justice to this, and this is going to be fun.”
Lifeson added, “Well, I felt exactly the same.”
Rush is planning to play two sets at the concerts, which will feature a changing selection of songs chosen from a list of at least 35 tunes they are working up. The band is also planning to add a keyboardist and possibly another musician to its touring lineup.
Rush “50 Something” Tour Dates:
June 7 – Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
June 9 – Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
June 11 – Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum*
June 13 – Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum*
June 18 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Palacio de los Deportes
June 24 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
June 26 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
June 28 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena*
June 30 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena*
July 16 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
July 18 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
July 20 – Chicago, IL @ United Center*
July 22 – Chicago, IL @ United Center*
July 28 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
July 30 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
August 1 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden*
August 3 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden*
August 7 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Scotiabank Arena
August 9 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Scotiabank Arena
August 11 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Scotiabank Arena*
August 13 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Scotiabank Arena*
September 17 – Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Arena
September 19 – Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Arena*
* = newly added date.
(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Comedy Central)
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