Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have revealed their shock and delight at the success of Rush's upcoming Fifty Something tour as they announce a second night at Manchester's Co-Op Live for March 14 due to "incredible demand" for tickets, as well as revealing the band's jamming could open the door for new music.
The band recently announced UK and EU dates for February, March and April 2027, along with former Jeff Beck drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold, who has worked with The Who.
“When we decided to carry on again last year, the first thing on my mind was, ‘Well, if we’re going to tour America, we’re going to have to tour Europe as well,’” Lee tells Prog. “I felt like we owed it to the fans over here. I was so proud of [the band’s farewell] R40 tour, the production and the way we were playing, that I wanted them to see it and experience it. They never got that chance and it sort of stuck in my craw. It felt like unfinished business.”
“Neil was definitely done after the R40 tour,” says Lifeson. “He was done even before the tour. We had to accept it, but for the two of us, we still felt like we had lots of gas in the tank and we could continue going.
Lee and Lifeson announced the Fifty Something reunion tour in October 2025, a decade after they played what was then their final gig at the LA Forum on August 1, 2015. The first batch of US and Canadian dates sold out in days, leading them to add more shows in North America.
“The response was kind of overwhelming,” says Lifeson. “I think we expected it would go well – we’re aware of the desire of our fans to see us again. But nothing like what happened.”
“We thought we’d do a couple of nights here and a couple of nights there,” adds Lee. “I didn’t think we’d end up doing four shows in each city. That’s never happened to us. We’re an overnight sensation after 50 years.”
The Fifty Something tour sees Anika Nilles taking the place of Neil Peart, who died in March 2020. The German-born drummer was recommended by Lee’s tech John ‘Skully’ McIntosh and, according to the bassist, was the only person they considered for the job. “We wanted someone without any associations, who came from a different world and a different background,” says Lee. “She was the first person we thought of and the first person we played with that intent. She’s in the gym every day, preparing. But she’s told me it’s starting to feel like second nature, and now she can start putting more of herself into the songs.”
The pair are unsurprisingly cagey about the specifics of what they’ll be playing on the upcoming shows, though Lee recently revealed that they had been rehearsing 38 different songs. “It’s 39 as of yesterday,” says the bassist. “I’m not going to say what songs they are, but we’re trying to cover as many records as we can and have some variety. We’re playing a lot of the songs that people want to hear, but there are some songs that we haven’t played in a really long time.”
“We’re not playing 39 songs a night,” adds Lifeson, “but if you come back the next night, 40 per cent of the songs will be different, and the same the night after that. It’s a cycle of multiple nights, so there’ll be lots of different material.”
They won’t reveal whether there are plans for more shows beyond the UK and European dates. “We’re going to see how all this goes,” is all that Lee will say about it.
And the likelihood of brand new Rush music?
“Well, we’re jamming, so it’s possible,” says the bassist. “But let’s see if we can still stand each other after a year of this."
Rush Fifty Something UK and EU 2027 tour dates
Feb 19: FRA Paris La Défense Arena
Feb 21: GER Berlin Uber Arena
Feb 23: NED Amstersam Ziggo Dome
Feb 25: GER Munich Olympiahalle
Feb 28: GER Cologne LANXESS Arena
Mar 2: GER Hamburg Barclays Arena
Mar 4: GER Stuttgart Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
Mar 8: UK Glasgow OVO HYdro
Mar 12: UK Manchester Co-op Live
Mar 14: UK Manchester Co-op Live
Mar 16: UK London O2 Arena
Mar 18: UK London O2 Arena
Mar 27: POL Kraków Arena Kraków
Mar 30: ITA Milan Unipol Dome
Apr 1: SWI Basel St. Jakobshalle Basel|
Apr 4: DE N Copenhagen Royal Arena
Apr 6: NOR Oslo Unity Arena
Apr 8: SWE Stockholm Avicii Arena
Apr 10: FIN Helsinki Veikkaus Arena
For UK date ticket sale information, please visit here.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
