By Steve Newton
All the Vancouver Rush freaks who’ve been hoping and praying that the Canuck prog-rock legends would play here on the recently announced Fifty Something Tour have gotten their wish.
In a lighthearted YouTube post today, bassist-vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson announced that the North American tour–which will feature Germany’s Anika Nilles on drums–has been extended, with 17 dates added. It will now conclude with a show at Rogers Arena on Tuesday, December 15, 2026.
The “artist presale” starts next Monday (October 27), and you can sign up for it here.
I’m not planning on going myself, and it’s not because I don’t believe that Nilles will be a worthy replacement for Neil Peart–I’m sure she’ll do a bang-up job behind the kit.
And it’s not because I couldn’t scrape up enough money for a ticket, although I’ve heard that prices are through the roof.
It’s just that I’ve seen Rush half a dozen times already, including in 1997 on the Test for Echo Tour, in 2008 on the Snakes & Arrows Tour, in 2011 on the Time Machine Tour, and in 2015 on the R40 Tour.
I even saw them back in 1984 on the Grace Under Pressure Tour, although that time I was mainly there to see opening act Gary Moore.
I freakin’ loved Gary Moore.
To hear the full audio of my 1992 interview with Alex Lifeson and my interviews with Geddy Lee from 1997 and 2002 subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 500 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with rockers since 1982.