“The further I got away from it, the more I thought, ‘It’s OK. We had 40 years. I’m tired of hanging around a hotel, being away from family’”: Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee explain why now is the time to reunite Rush

Surviving Rush members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have explained their decision to reunite the pioneering prog rockers 10 years after their last tour.

In a special appearance at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday (October 5), the pair reveal that Rush stopped touring in 2015 at the behest of drummer Neil Peart, who died of glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, in January 2020, aged 67.

“I think Ged and I still had gas in the tank and we still wanted to continue working,” says Lifeson (via Blabbermouth). “But it was what it was, and the further I got away from it, the more I thought, ‘It’s OK. We had 40 years. I’m tired of hanging around a hotel, being away from family and all of that stuff.’ And I felt that way for most of the last 10 years, really.”

The guitarist adds that Lee approached him with some “big ideas” and the two then started jamming together. “And then I realised that I love it so much,” he continues. “I love playing so much.”

Lee reveals that the decision to reform Rush was “relatively recent”, due to the intense emotion the band and fans felt following Peart’s passing.

“It was devastating and it was a very sad time, and it took time for us to even contemplate it,” the singer/bassist remembers, later adding: “And I would say [reuniting] was kind of out of the question for the longest time because of those circumstances. And how do you replace someone who's irreplaceable?”

Lee explains that he and Lifeson began hanging out in the studio again “in the last couple of years”. He continues: “And then one day – I don’t know why – we started playing some Rush songs for fun. And God, we were laughing so hard and we were enjoying it so much. And it was almost like playing those songs dispelled the dark clouds.”

The singer/bassist doesn’t want the returning band to be “Rush 2.0”, saying their intention is “just to pay homage to our music, pay homage to our lost brother and represent the songs and celebrate the songs”.

Rush announced their 2026 comeback tour, the Fifty Something tour, on Monday (October 6). The jaunt will consist of 12 North and Central American dates from June to September. Live drums will be performed by Anika Nilles, who also plays in Jeff Beck’s solo band.

Lee says that he discovered Nilles through her playing in Beck’s band, as the Rush frontman’s bass tech was on the last Beck tour. “And he would come home, he would rave about her, what a brilliant player she was and great person,” he adds, “and blah, blah, blah. So I kind of looked her up.”

Tickets to the 2026 Rush dates go on general sale on Friday, October 17 at 12 noon local time for the US and Canada and 11am local time for Mexico. Fans can sign up for an artist presale from October 9, with the presale launching on October 13 for the US and Canada and October 16 for Mexico.

See dates and details of the Rush tour below.

Rush 2026 tour dates:

Jun 07: Los Angeles Kia Forum, CA
Jun 09: Los Angeles Kia Forum, CA
Jun 18: Mexico City Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico
Jun 24: Fort Worth Dickies Arena TX
Jun 26: Fort Worth Dickies Arena, TX
Jul 16: Chicago United Center, IL
Jul 18: Chicago United Center, IL
Jul 28: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Jul 30: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Aug 07: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, ON
Aug 09: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, ON
Sep 17: Cleveland Rocket Arena, OH