Rush are to receive an honour for their work with charities at this year’s Juno Awards, it’s been confirmed.
Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart will attend the event in Hamilton, Ontario on March 14 to pick up the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award – an accolade given to Canadian artists who have enhanced the social fabric of the country.
The band say in a statement: “We are sincerely grateful to be recognised as this year’s recipients of the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award. We are proud, honoured and humbled to be in the company of all Canadians who find it within their hearts to help those in need.”
The trio have donated their time and money to a host of charities throughout their career. In their early days, they encouraged fans to give to food banks, while from their 2010 Time Machine tour onwards, the band give $1 from every ticket sold to good causes.
Lee, Lifeson and Peart also aid a host of other charities and support a wide range of projects and organisations and were last year given doctorates from Canada’s Nipissing University.
Allan Reid, president and CEO, CARAS/The Juno Awards and MusiCounts says: “We are proud to be recognising Rush’s noble legacy with this award. The group’s dedication to countless charities and organisations over the course of their career is truly remarkable.
“Their tenacity and spirit serves as an inspiration to all of us, and we salute them for all of their exceptional work.”
The band haven’t decided if they’ll tour this year, with Peart recently stating he’s in two minds about heading out on the road.
Rush are the cover stars of the latest issue of Prog magazine which is on sale now.