Rush is a Band

Rush Fifty Something tour Mexico City show #2 open thread

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 13:11:00 -0500

UPDATE - 6/22@1:39PM: Rush has posted another message thanking all the fans in Mexico City:

We are still flying high from our incredible time here in the amazing Mexico City! 🇲🇽❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much!

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Updates and other random Rush stuff

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 12:43:00 -0500

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 didn'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:

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Rush Fifty Something tour Mexico City show #1 open thread

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 12:55:00 -0500

UPDATE - 6/19@12:21PM: Rush posted the following message along with some 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!

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Aimee Mann discusses her role in Rush's Fifty Something tour in new podcast interview

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 16:37:00 -0500

UPDATE - 6/18@11:14AM: In another part of the Vulture.com interview that we'd missed initially, Mann says how she's going to try to perform with the band again down the road, specifically in Cleveland where she says the band will be doing some filming (thanks YesFan)!

... 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. ...

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New Rush podcast Why Rush Matters from Jeff Miers and Ray Wawrzyniak

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 12:56:00 -0500

A new Rush-themed podcast from Pantheon Media titled Why Rush Matters debuted this past 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:

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Rush Fifty Something tour LA show #4 open thread

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 13:43:00 -0500

UPDATE - 6/17@9:14AM: Here's a great review from Variety.

UPDATE - 6/15@11:12PM: Here's a review from Revolver.

UPDATE - 6/14@10:01PM: Rush has posted the following message of thanks to their new bandmates, Aimee Mann and - of course - Rush fans:

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Updates and other random Rush stuff

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:27:00 -0500

Rush's long-anticipated Fifty Something tour kicked off this past Sunday night at the Kia Forum in LA, where the band has now performed 3 epic shows, with one more to go tomorrow night. Over the first 3 shows, the band has performed a total of 34 different songs (35 if you count 2112 truncated vs. full) spanning over a dozen Rush albums. This means that of the 37 songs they rehearsed (according to the leaked rehearsal list), there are now only 3 songs that haven't been heard yet, and which we should be hearing Saturday night. Some of the highlights from the past 3 shows include the band performing 2112 (the song) in its entirety (first time since the Test for Echo tour), Moving Pictures in its entirety, and the inclusion of Aimee Mann performing backing vocals on Time Stand Still. The band has also been mixing up the order of songs played significantly with little continuity from night-to-night, with the only commonality being the Xanadu opener and the Neil Peart tribute songs in each of the 2 sets. The Neil Peart tributes were Bravado in the first set and Time Stand Still in the second, where they'd play a video with a Neil Peart voice-over prior to the song. But even those 2 tributes songs have been played in a few different positions in each set on all 3 nights. Tomorrow night's set will likely be different as well, and likely include the final 3 songs that have been rehearsed. You can check out all the setlists from each night in the tour section.

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Rush Fifty Something tour LA show #3 open thread

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:21:00 -0500

UPDATE - 6/13@1:30PM: Here's a great video of The Camera Eye with Loren Gold's new piano intro (thanks John at Cygnus-X1.net):

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Epiphone introduces the Alex Lifeson 1976 ES-355 Whitey reissue

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 10:40:00 -0500

Back in January at the 2026 NAMM show, Gibson unveiled a new batch of Epiphone guitars including a new ICG (Inspired by Gibson Custom Guitars) Alex Lifeson 1976 ES-355 Whitey reissue, and Epiphone announced earlier today that the reissues are now available to purchase. From the press release:

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Rush Fifty Something tour LA show #2 open thread

Tue, 9 Jun 2026 02:25:00 -0500

UPDATE - 6/11@1:41PM: Some photos and a recap from Metal Injection.

UPDATE - 6/10@10:15PM: Here's a review from Rolling Stone:

... Lee, who relieved fans by hitting his old high notes on night one, sounded even stronger on night two, gleefully tearing into the most challenging corners of their catalog. Buoyed by recent vocal coaching, he even dug into the stratospheric "Anthem," from 1974's Fly By Night, though he joked afterwards that it pushed him into a "Mickey Mouse" range. ...

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Rush Fifty Something tour opening night in LA open thread

Sun, 7 Jun 2026 12:15:00 -0500

UPDATE - 6/17@6:47PM: Here's a review from Daily Kos.

UPDATE - 6/11@7:36PM: Here's a review from BEAT, and another from The Washington Post.

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Officially-licensed Rush All the World's a Stage and Exit...Stage Left 3D desktop artwork from Artovision

Sat, 6 Jun 2026 11:34:00 -0500

Artovision is a Wisconsin-based company that creates 3-dimensional collectable artwork inspired by popular culture, video games, food and Americana. Over the past several years, they've released a number of officially-licensed pieces based on Rush album art including Moving Pictures, Roll the Bones, Hold Your Fire, A Show of Hands, Signals (this desktop art piece too), Hemispheres, Clockwork Angels and Counterparts, Rush's debut album, Grace Under Pressure, Vapor Trails/Snakes & Arrows, Caress of Steel/Fly by Night, Permanent Waves/Presto/Power Windows, and 2112. There's also this desktop piece depicting the iconic Le Studio logo that they released last summer. In celebration of Rush returning to the road, the subjects of their latest batch of offerings are Rush's first 2 live albums - All the World's a Stage and Exit...Stage Left. The All the World's a Stage piece depicts the album's iconic cover printed on 3/4" thick optical-grade acrylic with vibrant UV cured inks and measures 6" x 6". The Exit...Stage Left piece showcases a 3-D interpretation of the album art printed on 3/4" thick optical-grade acrylic with vibrant UV-cured inks and measures 12¾" x 6". For more information on Artovision, and to see their complete line of officially-licensed Rush pieces, visit their website at artovision3d.com. You can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and watch a YouTube video demonstrating the 3-D effect of their Shadowbox art here.

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Updates and other random Rush stuff

Fri, 5 Jun 2026 09:46:00 -0500

The time is now again! Rush will kick off their first tour in over a decade in just 2 short days from now at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, right where things ended back in 2015. The band's Fifty Something tour will then make its way across North America, hitting 24 cities and 58 shows throughout 2026 before taking a break and heading to South America and Europe in 2027. Their South American tour will see them play 9 shows across Argentina, Brazil and Chile before heading across the pond to close out the tour with 21 dates throughout Europe. Just as with tours past, RIAB will have an open thread posted on the day of every show that I'll keep updated with news and information as it becomes available. The social media landscape has changed drastically since Rush's last tour, and tour spoilers will be nearly impossible to avoid without complete radio silence. That said, RIAB will not be posting any tour spoilers directly to the home page or its social media channels, although we can't guarantee the same for the comments, re-posts, etc. Each show will have a separate setlist link that I'll be posting the set to, but that will require you to actively click on it to see any spoilers. RIAB also has a very loose definition of spoiler, so be warned. That's enough on that subject; now let the speculation begin. The band has been rehearsing close to 40 songs for the tour that they will rotate in over a 4-ish night stretch, with each show being around 2.5 hours, and including around 20-25 songs. There will be a portion of each show dedicated to the late Neil Peart, although details of what form that will take have not been revealed. It's also not clear whether they will include an intermission or not, although I believe their original plan was to not include one (although that may have changed). Speaking of rehearsals, yesterday Rush posted this hilarious short video of Geddy Lee rehearsing with his dog Dottie to their Instagram:

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Rick Beato interviews former Rush producer Terry Brown

Fri, 29 May 2026 16:49:00 -0500

Over the last couple of weeks, Rick Beato has posted interviews with both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and earlier this afternoon he dropped an interview with former Rush producer Terry Brown, conducted in Toronto at around the same time as the Rush interviews. Terry talks about his long career as a producer, and especially his time in the '70s and '80s producing some of Rush's most iconic albums. From the YouTube description:

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Updates and other random Rush stuff

Fri, 29 May 2026 10:56:00 -0500

Rush's Fifty Something tour kicks off in just 1 WEEK from this coming Sunday on June 7th in Los Angeles - right back where they ended the R40 Live tour and performed their final show with the late Neil Peart. The band is currently hunkered down in LA and will likely be doing some full dress rehearsals at the venue in the coming week - The Forum has no other events planned until the Rush shows. From everything we've learned, the band has been rehearsing close to 40 songs for the tour that they will rotate in over a 4-ish night stretch, with each show being around 2.5 hours, and including around 20-25 songs. There will be a portion of each show dedicated to the late Neil Peart, although details of what form that will take have not been revealed. It's also not clear whether they will include an intermission or not, although I believe their original plan was to not include one (although that may have changed). Live Nation is asking fans who are attending one of the LA shows to fill out a questionnaire to gather information on Rush superfans. It's unclear what they'll use the information for, but if you are attending any of the LA shows, you can fill out the questionnaire here. If - like most of us - you won't be able to attend opening night ... No problem! RushCon has you covered. They'll be hosting a Rush Tour Opening Night Watch Party via their YouTube channel featuring Chaz N Schatz from the RushRash podcast (I was a guest on their show back in 2024). From the announcement:

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RushCon to host a Rush Tour Opening Night Watch Party via YouTube

Thu, 28 May 2026 16:29:00 -0500

Opening night of Rush's Fifty Something tour is just 10 short days away! Can't be there in person? No problem! RushCon has you covered. They'll be hosting a Rush Tour Opening Night Watch Party via their YouTube channel featuring Chaz N Schatz from the RushRash podcast (I was a guest on their show back in 2024). From the announcement:

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New book Vanished Time: A People's History of Rush coming in November

Wed, 27 May 2026 13:30:00 -0500

A new book from RUSH: The Day I Was There author Richard Houghton will be released this coming November, and is now available for pre-order. The book is titled Vanished Time: A People's History of Rush, and rather than being a traditional band biography, it takes a fan-centered approach featuring more than 500 firsthand accounts from Rush fans, chronicling concert experiences, personal encounters, road trips, unforgettable performances, and the many moments that helped define the Rush community over the decades. The book comes in at 336 pages and is slated for release later this year on November 3, 2026, with pre-orders now available. Thanks to John at Cygnus-X1.net for the heads up.

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Rick Beato's video interview with Alex Lifeson now streaming

Mon, 25 May 2026 17:47:00 -0500

Musician/producer Rick Beato's popular YouTube channel posted an hour-long interview with Rush's Geddy Lee last week, which Beato had teased a month earlier. Alex Lifeson crashed Geddy's interview towards the end, and then Beato interviewed Alex solo. That interview was published earlier today and is now available for watching. Alex continues on many of the subjects touched on in Geddy's interview, giving his own take on Rush's upcoming Fifty Something tour and Rush's legacy, along with a lot of gear talk. You can watch the entire interview below or via YouTube. From the video description:

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Updates and other random Rush stuff

Sat, 23 May 2026 10:39:00 -0500

Last month, YouTuber Rick Beato teased an upcoming appearance with Rush on his popular YouTube show by posting a photo of himself with Geddy and Alex to Instagram with the caption, Just had the incredible opportunity to sit down with Geddy and Alex from Rush. Beato finally dropped the hour-long interview earlier this week, billing it as The Geddy Lee Interview, although Lerxst crashes the party towards the end, and Beato indicates that there will be a separate Alex Lifeson interview as well. From the YouTube description:

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New hour-long video interview with Geddy Lee on Rick Beato's YouTube show

Tue, 19 May 2026 17:06:00 -0500

Last month, YouTuber Rick Beato teased an upcoming appearance with Rush on his popular YouTube show by posting a photo of himself with Geddy and Alex to Instagram with the caption, Just had the incredible opportunity to sit down with Geddy and Alex from Rush. Now almost a month later, Beato has finally dropped the hour-long interview, billing it as The Geddy Lee Interview, although Lerxst crashes the party at one point. From the YouTube description:

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