Rush is a Band https://www.rushisaband.com/ Rush Blog - Rush is a Band Blog: Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson Sun, 27 Sep 2026 12:56:09 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <![CDATA[Rush Fifty Something tour San Antonio show #2 open thread]]> UPDATE - 9/27@12:56PM: Here's some video of Limelight, featuring some goofiness from Big Al at the beginning:

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/25/6574/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-San-Antonio-show-2-open-thread Fri, 25 Sep 2026 13:52:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/25/6574/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-San-Antonio-show-2-open-thread <![CDATA[Updates and other random Rush stuff]]> Rush brought the Fifty Something tour back to Texas this past week, playing the first of a pair of shows at San Antonio's Frost Bank Center Wednesday night. They'll wrap things up with one more show this evening, and then move onto Houston next Thursday for the first one-off show of the tour. In general, Rush has been toggling between their Bravo and Charlie setlists between the 2 shows in each city for all of the 2-night runs, with the night 1 Bravo setlist featuring 2112 in full as the centerpiece, and the night 2 Charlie set featuring the whole of Moving Pictures. Prior to the 2-show runs that began in Philly last month, there had been only 2 versions of the B set, but each 2-show run since has seen a new one, bringing the total now up to 8. The C setlists on the other hand have remained constant throughout the 2-night runs, with every night 2 audience seeing the identical set. It will be very interesting to see what Rush decides to do for the first one-off show next week in Houston. We might see the return of the rare Gorgo setlist that they played for the Fort Worth make-up show; that set featured BOTH 2112 and Moving Pictures in full.

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/25/6572/Updates-and-other-random-Rush-stuff Fri, 25 Sep 2026 11:25:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/25/6572/Updates-and-other-random-Rush-stuff <![CDATA[Rush comments on the passing of Tom Sawyer co-writer Pye Dubois]]> Writer/poet Paul Woods - aka Pye Dubois - passed away last week at the age of 78. Woods was the unofficial 5th member of Rush's labelmates Max Webster, where he was the band's primary lyricist. He also collaborated with Rush's Neil Peart on the lyrics for Tom Sawyer and had co-writing credits on Force Ten, Between Sun and Moon and Test for Echo. This was the latest of several tragedies for Max Webster, as keyboardist Terry Watkinson passed away in February, and drummer Gary McCracken passed just a couple of weeks ago. Rush posted the following message to Instagram after learning the news, along with a few photographs:

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/24/6578/Rush-comments-on-the-passing-of-Tom-Sawyer-co-writer-Pye-Dubois Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:12:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/24/6578/Rush-comments-on-the-passing-of-Tom-Sawyer-co-writer-Pye-Dubois <![CDATA[Neil Peart: No One's Disciple now streaming in Canada, world TV premiere on the CBC tonight]]> UPDATE - 9/26@12:02PM: Here's another interview with the filmmakers, along with this one.

UPDATE - 9/25@11:17AM: Here's a review from The Grind.

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/23/6577/Neil-Peart-No-Ones-Disciple-now-streaming-in-Canada-world-TV-premiere-on-the-CBC-tonight Wed, 23 Sep 2026 14:49:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/23/6577/Neil-Peart-No-Ones-Disciple-now-streaming-in-Canada-world-TV-premiere-on-the-CBC-tonight <![CDATA[Rush Fifty Something tour San Antonio show #1 open thread]]> UPDATE - 9/26@12:10PM: Here's a review of both shows from the San Antonio Current, along with some photos courtesy Cygnus-X1.net.

UPDATE - 9/25@6:48PM: Here are some photos courtesy Cygnus-X1.net.

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/23/6573/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-San-Antonio-show-1-open-thread Wed, 23 Sep 2026 13:58:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/23/6573/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-San-Antonio-show-1-open-thread <![CDATA[Rush donation puts fundraising for the Neil Peart Memorial at Lakeside Park over the finish line]]> The late Neil Peart grew up in the St. Catharines, Ontario community of Port Dalhousie, the lakefront home of Lakeside Park which inspired the lyrics to the 1975 Rush song of the same name. Back in 2020 the St. Catharines City Council, with the full support of the community, voted to name the newly rebuilt pavilion at Lakeside Park the Neil Peart Pavilion at Lakeside Park in honor of the hometown icon who passed away over 6 years ago in January of 2020. The Council also established the Neil Peart Commemorative Task Force, with the objective to commission a public work of art commemorating Peart's life and legacy. Back in January of 2021 the Task Force officially began welcoming artists to submit requests for pre-qualification via the city's website, and revealed the finalists in September of 2021 along with the launch of a fundraising campaign for the Memorial. In November of 2022 the Task Force finally revealed that the artist who will have the honor of creating the memorial is Morgan MacDonald of The Newfoundland Bronze Foundry. The project and its timelines were contingent on the Task Force raising the $1 million required for completion, and an official fundraising campaign launched in 2024 on Neil Peart's 72nd birthday. The campaign had been having trouble raising the funds until Peart's Rush bandmates decided to go on tour this past October, revealing that part of the tour proceeds would go towards the Memorial. Earlier today the Task Force revealed that Rush's donations have finally put them over the finish line:

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/22/6576/Rush-donation-puts-fundraising-for-the-Neil-Peart-Memorial-at-Lakeside-Park-over-the-finish-line Tue, 22 Sep 2026 19:05:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/22/6576/Rush-donation-puts-fundraising-for-the-Neil-Peart-Memorial-at-Lakeside-Park-over-the-finish-line <![CDATA[Rush and Chad Smith talk Neil Peart: No One's Disciple in new Q with Tom Power interview]]> UPDATE - 9/22@5:26PM: The interview is now up on YouTube too:

----- snip -----

The new documentary on the late Neil Peart titled No One's Disciple held its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this past Wednesday evening in the Princess of Wales Theatre, and both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson along with drummer Chad Smith were there. All 3 ran the red carpet interview gauntlet, and there are several clips available to check out in this post, such as this footage from the Canadian Press where they also chat with the filmmakers. The trio were also interviewed for the CBC's Q with Tom Power, and that interview is now available for listening at this location or wherever you get your podcasts. It should also be up on YouTube within the next few days. They spend a good bit talking about the film, but most of the interview just focuses on stories about Neil. Here's Geddy chatting about the first lyrics that Neil ever wrote for the band - the lyrics for Fly By Night's Beneath, Between and Behind:

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/22/6575/Rush-and-Chad-Smith-talk-Neil-Peart-No-Ones-Disciple-in-new-Q-with-Tom-Power-interview Tue, 22 Sep 2026 14:59:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/22/6575/Rush-and-Chad-Smith-talk-Neil-Peart-No-Ones-Disciple-in-new-Q-with-Tom-Power-interview <![CDATA[Rush Fifty Something tour Cleveland show #2 open thread]]> UPDATE - 9/21@10:46AM: Alex was sporting his we're in Anika's band t-shirt for the show, featuring the junior high photo of he and Ged. And that shirt is now available for fans to purchase here.

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/19/6569/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-Cleveland-show-2-open-thread Sat, 19 Sep 2026 11:26:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/19/6569/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-Cleveland-show-2-open-thread <![CDATA[Updates and other random Rush stuff]]> Rush kicked off their 2-day stint at Cleveland's Rocket Arena last night to another sold out crowd. Fans were treated to a unique version of the Bravo setlist which was actually closer to setlist D in set 1 than anything else, although set 2 followed the standard B pattern. You can get full coverage of the evening's festivities in the Cleveland open thread. They'll be back at it tomorrow night, where we are still expecting them to pull out one of their Charlie setlists. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in partnership with RushCon are celebrating the return of Rush to Cleveland with a 4-day fan event called Rush the Rock Hall. The event kicked off yesterday and will continue throughout the weekend. Today will feature a number of special panels starting with Rush album artist Hugh Syme at 1PM, author Kevin J. Anderson at 3PM, along with a special panel discussion From Working Man to the Spirit of Radio: Rush, Radio, and Industry at 5PM. Tomorrow features a Rush Nerds Rush the Rock Hall Panel at 2PM with yours truly (Ed Stenger), Jillian Maryonovich (RUSHCON), Matt Wardlaw (Ultimate Classic Rock), Annie Zaleski (author) and Rush superfan/archivist/historian Ray Wawrzyniak. Fans will need to purchase Rock Hall admission tickets to get the full experience, and then each panel is an additional $10. If you plan to attend more than one day, then it makes more sense to just purchase a year-long Rock Hall membership, which will get you in all 4 days (and beyond). The Hugh Syme panel is sold out, but tickets for the other 3 panels are still available. For all the details and to purchase tickets, visit rockhall.org.

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/18/6570/Updates-and-other-random-Rush-stuff Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:24:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/18/6570/Updates-and-other-random-Rush-stuff <![CDATA[Rush Fifty Something tour Cleveland show #1 open thread]]> UPDATE - 9/21@9:39AM: Here are some photos from Cleveland Scene.

UPDATE - 9/18@10:30PM: Instagram photo dump from the band:


... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/17/6568/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-Cleveland-show-1-open-thread Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:51:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/17/6568/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-Cleveland-show-1-open-thread <![CDATA[The new Neil Peart doc No One's Disciple world premiere tonight at TIFF]]> UPDATE - 9/22@3:08PM: Here's some coverage, including a few interview snippets with the filmmakers from the Toronto Star.

UPDATE - 9/22@9:17AM: Here's an interview with the filmmakers Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn.

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/16/6571/The-new-Neil-Peart-doc-No-Ones-Disciple-world-premiere-tonight-at-TIFF Wed, 16 Sep 2026 11:22:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/16/6571/The-new-Neil-Peart-doc-No-Ones-Disciple-world-premiere-tonight-at-TIFF <![CDATA[Rush Fifty Something tour Boston show #2 open thread]]> UPDATE - 9/18@12:07AM: Here's a review of both shows from The Arts Fuse.

UPDATE - 9/16@7:30PM: Donna Halper gives a rundown of her experience at the show in her latest blog post, liking it to a family reunion of sorts.

UPDATE - 9/16@11:40AM: Here's Rush's Instagram photo dump from the 2 Boston shows:

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/14/6565/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-Boston-show-2-open-thread Mon, 14 Sep 2026 11:20:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/14/6565/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-Boston-show-2-open-thread <![CDATA[Rush Fifty Something tour Boston show #1 open thread]]> UPDATE - 9/18@12:07AM: Here's a review of both shows from The Arts Fuse.

UPDATE - 9/16@11:40AM: Here's Rush's Instagram photo dump from the 2 Boston shows:


... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/12/6564/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-Boston-show-1-open-thread Sat, 12 Sep 2026 14:23:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/12/6564/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-Boston-show-1-open-thread <![CDATA[Remembering Neil Peart on his 74th birthday]]> UPDATE - 9/12@1:34PM: Here's Geddy Lee's Instagram post where he remembers his late friend and bandmate on his 74th birthday:


... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/12/6567/Remembering-Neil-Peart-on-his-74th-birthday Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:10:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/12/6567/Remembering-Neil-Peart-on-his-74th-birthday <![CDATA[Updates and other random Rush stuff]]> Rush wrapped up their 2-show stint at Montreal's Centre Bell last weekend and have been enjoying a week-long break in the meantime. They'll pick things back up tomorrow night in Boston, and then head on to Cleveland later this coming week. While in Cleveland the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in partnership with RushCon will be celebrating the return of Rush to the city that broke the band in the US with a 4-day fan event. Rush the Rock Hall will take place during Rush's 2-show run at Cleveland's Rocket Arena from next Thursday, September 17th through Sunday, September 20th. The event will include special appearances by Rush album artist Hugh Syme, and author Kevin J. Anderson, along with special panel discussions From Working Man to the Spirit of Radio: Rush, Radio, and Industry on Friday, and Rush Nerds Rush the Rock Hall Panel on Saturday. The Saturday panel will include yours truly (Ed Stenger), Jillian Maryonovich (RUSHCON), Matt Wardlaw (Ultimate Classic Rock), Annie Zaleski (author) and Rush superfan/archivist/historian Ray Wawrzyniak. Fans will need to purchase Rock Hall admission tickets to get the full experience, and then each panel is an additional $10. If you plan to attend more than one day, then it makes more sense to just purchase a year-long Rock Hall membership, which will get you in all 4 days (and beyond). The Hugh Syme panel is sold out, but tickets for the other 3 panels are still available. For all the details and to purchase tickets, visit rockhall.org. RushCon have also launched a RushCon Discord, a new place for the Rush fan community to connect. Talk Rush, meet other fans, plan meet-ups, share photos and memorabilia, exchange ticket info, talk Fifty Something tour and more. If you are interested in joining up, visit this link.

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/11/6563/Updates-and-other-random-Rush-stuff Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:32:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/11/6563/Updates-and-other-random-Rush-stuff <![CDATA[Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson to appear at the world premiere of the new Neil Peart documentary No One's Disciple]]> A new documentary on the late Neil Peart titled No One's Disciple will be premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this coming Wednesday, September 16th and both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will be in attendance. After the world premiere it will air the following week on September 23rd at 8PM on CBC Gem as part of the documentary series The Passionate Eye. RushCon will be hosting a watch party on their newly-minted RushCon Discord, and you can join the watch party at this link. The film will include some recent footage of Geddy and Alex jamming some Rush tunes with drummers Stewart Copeland, Chad Smith, Gavin Harrison, and Tool's Danny Carey. The film was developed by Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen - the same filmmakers who brought you Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, and Sam Dunn was recently interviewed about the film for a CTV News story which you can watch here. Fellow Canadians The Tragically Hip are also in the film, as seen in this clip. A new trailer for the film was released last week and you can check that out below or on YouTube.

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/10/6566/Geddy-Lee-and-Alex-Lifeson-to-appear-at-the-world-premiere-of-the-new-Neil-Peart-documentary-No-Ones-Disciple Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:04:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/10/6566/Geddy-Lee-and-Alex-Lifeson-to-appear-at-the-world-premiere-of-the-new-Neil-Peart-documentary-No-Ones-Disciple <![CDATA[Rush Fifty Something tour Montreal show #2 open thread]]> UPDATE - 9/7@12:58PM: Here's a review plus some photos from The Metal Voice.

UPDATE - 9/6@12:16PM: There was a classic Alex Lifeson moment during the intro to Limelight where Ged handed the mic over to Lerxst for a bit. He said a few nice things about Montreal and then asked Ged if he could start the song now. Geddy replied, "You're the boss!" which surprised Alex a bit, so he says, "I'm the boss? This is new! I'm the boss! Ah, you're fired, everybody! I'm just going to do a show by myself. I'm going to make hundreds of dollars! I'm going to go to the middle of the stage and take a rock star pose and start this, because this is my band now." He then busts into the song, as seen in this video.

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/04/6559/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-Montreal-show-2-open-thread Fri, 4 Sep 2026 11:37:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/04/6559/Rush-Fifty-Something-tour-Montreal-show-2-open-thread <![CDATA[Updates and other random Rush stuff]]> Rush's Fifty Something tour rolls on and continues to expand, with the band announcing the addition of 4 new US dates this past Monday. One-off shows were added in Houston on October 1st, St. Louis on October 21st, Cincinnati on October 23rd, and Pittsburgh on November 15th, with tickets on sale now. The band played a pair of shows in the Motor City this past weekend, and the first of a pair of Montreal shows on Wednesday. They'll wrap up their Montreal stint tonight before taking an extended 8-day break and picking things back up in Boston next weekend. So far the band has been alternating between different versions of their Bravo and Charlie setlists respectively for their 2-night runs, and we expect that trend to continue. For night 1 in Detroit they played a version of the B setlist (B-4) featuring Natural Science in place of The Trees, while in Montreal Wednesday night they played that same setlist (B-5) but with the one change of dropping The Analog Kid for Distant Early Warning. Night 2 in Detroit saw the band pull out the same Charlie setlist (C-2) that was played for night 2 in Philly last week, and we should see a version of that setlist tonight in Montreal. Anika Nilles continued her end-of-show gags for this past week's shows, eating some chips for night 1 in Detroit, putting up a closed sign on night 2, and playing a triangle Wednesday night in Montreal. Iron Maiden's Steve Harris and Adrian Smith were in town for Maidens's show last night at Parc Jean-Drapeau, and both attended Rush's show the night prior. They hung out with the boys backstage as seen in this Instagram post:

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/04/6554/Updates-and-other-random-Rush-stuff Fri, 4 Sep 2026 11:07:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/04/6554/Updates-and-other-random-Rush-stuff <![CDATA[Rush question featured on tonight's episode of Jeopardy! Masters]]> The American quiz show Jeopardy! is currently holding its Masters Tournament, and in the evening's episode featured a Rush-themed question/answer. In a category called Recent Transitions the $600 answer to the question was:

Anika Nilles replaced the late Neil Peart as this band started playing out again

Contestant Andrew He answered correctly, What is Rush?. Jeopardy! seems to have a love affair with Rush, and have used the band in MANY clues over the last several years. Thanks to Robert H for the heads up, and Michael M for the vid.

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/03/6562/Rush-question-featured-on-tonights-episode-of-Jeopardy-Masters Thu, 3 Sep 2026 22:10:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/03/6562/Rush-question-featured-on-tonights-episode-of-Jeopardy-Masters <![CDATA[Record Collector magazine to feature Rush in upcoming issue]]> Record Collector magazine will be publishing a special Record Collector Presents ... Rush edition next month, and have revealed the cover and contents. From the description:

... ]]> https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/03/6561/Record-Collector-magazine-to-feature-Rush-in-upcoming-issue Thu, 3 Sep 2026 13:44:00 -0500 https://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2026/09/03/6561/Record-Collector-magazine-to-feature-Rush-in-upcoming-issue