Back in March, Rush released “Rush 50,” a career-spanning greatest hits collection that ended with the final songs the band played at their final concert in 2015. Given the January 2020 death of drummer/lyricist Neil Peart from glioblastoma, it’s been assumed that a Rush live reunion wasn’t in the cards.

But like Geddy Lee’s beloved Toronto Blue Jays, the Canadian band knows how to throw a good curveball: Lee and Alex Lifeson are returning to the stage as Rush for a summer 2026 headline tour.

Drumming for the band will be Anika Nilles, an award-winning German composer and producer who previously toured with Jeff Beck and has released four solo albums.

The tour, dubbed Fifty Something, is described as a “celebration of Rush’s music, legacy, and the life of late drummer and lyricist Neil Peart” and is slated to hit seven cities in North America, kicking off with two nights at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on June 7 and 9. (The booking is poignant and significant: Rush’s last show was at the same venue.)

The tour will then go to Mexico City for one show and then hit two nights in multiple other cities — including Fort Worth, Chicago, New York and Toronto — before concluding with a single concert in Cleveland on September 17. (Scroll down for the full list of dates and venues, along with ticket onsale times and links.)

The tour news was first shared with select media and fans at a top-secret private event Sunday night at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland that included a viewing of Rush’s induction speeches and performance and ended with a loose, animated interview with Lee and Lifeson. The reformation of the band was casually dropped on the surprised crowd in Cleveland partway through what started off as a far less momentous conversation.

A “fan question” from a “C.B. from Highland Park, Ill.” (likely Q Prime Management co-founder Cliff Burnstein, who was in attendance) asked whether the band would tour again.

The musicians hemmed and hawed a bit with some lighthearted banter before Lee said, “I kind of think that we should tour next year.” At first, the audience reacted in disbelief, wondering if it was a joke, but then erupted into applause once it became clear he was serious. (Everyone cheered loudly again when it was noted Cleveland was on the touring itinerary.)

Lee acknowledged that deciding to tour was a “very difficult decision” in part because of the work involved, but also due to the “devastating” loss of Peart. “It was a very sad time, and it took time for us to even contemplate,” he said, adding, “And how do you replace someone who is irreplaceable?”

But Lifeson and Lee noted they had started privately jamming on Rush songs together, just casually, with no aim in mind. For both, that was a turning point. “We were laughing so hard, and we were enjoying it so much, and it was almost like playing those songs dispelled the dark clouds,” Lee said.

Peart’s widow, Carrie Nuttall-Peart, and his daughter, Olivia, have given their blessing to and support for the Fifty Something tour. The two family members said jointly in a press statement: “We are thrilled to support the Fifty Something tour, celebrating a band whose music has resonated and inspired fans for generations, and to honor Neil’s extraordinary legacy as both a drummer and lyricist. … As the band enters this new chapter, it promises to be truly unforgettable. We are excited to see how their new vision unfolds, and to hear this legendary music played live once again.”

At the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame event in Cleveland, Lee and Lifeson were brought onstage with a galvanizing introduction from media historian and professor Donna Halper, who broke Rush in the United States while working as music director at Cleveland’s influential rock radio station WMMS. Halper received the original Moon Records pressing of Rush’s 1974 self-titled debut from a label friend in Canada and played “Working Man” on the radio. The song resonated with listeners and import copies of the LP sold well in local record stores, opening the door for Rush to eventually land a U.S. record deal and become global superstars.

Lee and Lifeson were then interviewed by author and Washington Post journalist Geoff Edgers. The conversation started off light, with questions about Lifeson’s Rock Hall acceptance speech, which notoriously consisted of blah-blah-blahs in place of actual words (the guitarist admitted he didn’t tell his bandmates in advance he was pulling the stunt), the duo’s deep friendship, musical influences and a very funny story about Rush touring with KISS in the 1970s. (Turns out Lee does a bang-up impression of Ace Frehley.) And then came the amusingly casual revelation of the night’s big news.

The major question at hand was how and why Fifty Something came about. Since Peart’s death, Lee and Lifeson have performed together onstage several times, including at the 2022 tribute concerts for the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, and with Primus’s Les Claypool at “South Park’s” 25th anniversary concert. Lifeson also records regularly with his new band, the shoegaze-influenced Envy of None, while Lee wrote multiple books, including the new “72 Stories: From the Baseball Collection of Geddy Lee.”

But in recent years, Lifeson had been dealing with some health issues that impacted his ability to tour and was rather adamant in press interviews that another Rush tour was out of the question. But Lee reassured the Cleveland attendees that his bandmate is “pretty effing healthy right now.”

Lifeson said he’d enjoyed reacquainting himself with Rush songs and found himself re-energized by the complex material. “To be challenged with that again was really, really exciting,” the guitarist said. “And the more we started rehearsing and playing, the more I just fell in love with the idea of playing again.”

Nilles came on the band’s radar via Lee’s bass tech John “Skully” McIntosh, who was touring with Jeff Beck and raved about the drummer. Intrigued, the musicians secretly brought Nilles to Canada — not to audition but rather as an “experiment,” as Lee put it. The three played together and clicked, which Lee notes was no easy feat, as fitting in with Rush involves a complicated calculus of technique and feel, as well as communicating unique musical nuances.

“No matter who the drummer is, they all have their own perception of what it’s like to play a Rush song, and they may not line up with the way we play Rush songs,” Lee said, as the audience laughed. “So whoever we were going to choose was going to be difficult, and there was going to be a translation.”

Lee notes Rush intends to hire a keyboard player to give him more space onstage — and Lifeson as well, because “Alex loves to dance,” he quipped, as the guitarist jokingly did a little seated jig. They plan to work up “35, 36 songs” so they can switch the setlist up from night to night.

Although marathon three-hour sets likely aren’t in the cards, Rush is “certainly going to play over two hours,” Lee added, and they’ve already been rehearsing. He also reassured fans that Peart would be honored throughout the trek, noting the band would pay tribute to the drummer “at least a couple of times during the show in our own way” every night.

“Our idea was not to try to be Rush 2.0,” he says. “[We want] to pay homage to our music, pay homage to our lost brother, represent the songs — and celebrate the songs.”

Lee said the following in a press statement: “It’s been over 10 years since Alex and I have performed the music of Rush alongside our fallen bandmate and friend Neil. A lifetime’s worth of songs that we had put our cumulative hearts and souls into writing, recording and playing together onstage. And so, after all that has gone down since that last show, Alex and I have done some serious soul searching and come to the decision that we fucking miss it, and that it’s time for a celebration of 50-something years of RUSH music. So in 2026 my BFF Lerxst (aka Alex Lifeson) and I are going to hit the road once again to pay tribute to our past and to Neil by performing a vast selection of RUSH songs in a handful of cities. No small task, because as we all know Neil was irreplaceable.

“Yet life is full of surprises,” Lee continued, “and we have been introduced to another remarkable person; an incredible drummer and musician who is adding another chapter to our story while continuing her own fascinating musical journey. Her name is Anika Nilles, and we could not be more excited to introduce her to our loyal and dedicated RUSH fanbase, whom, we know, will give her every chance to live up to that near impossible role. Before we hit the stage, we also hope to add another musician or two to expand our sound a wee bit and free up Alex and I, in order to show off some of our new fancy dance steps.  … Lerxst, Anika and myself, along with many of our longstanding crew members have been hard at work rehearsing and designing the kind of Rush show you’ve grown accustomed to expect from us. We dearly hope you will come along and help us celebrate our history together.”

Rush’s 2026 tour dates:

Sun Jun 7, Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
Tue Jun 9, Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
Thu Jun 18, Mexico City, MX Palacio de los Deportes
Wed Jun 24, Fort Worth, TX Dickies Arena
Fri Jun 26, Fort Worth, TX Dickies Arena
Thu Jul 16, Chicago, IL United Center
Sat Jul 18, Chicago, IL United Center
Tue Jul 28, New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Thu Jul 30, New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Fri Aug 7, Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
Sun Aug 9, Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
Thu Sep 17, Cleveland, OH Rocket Arena

Ticket information:

Fans will be able to participate in the Rush artist presale by signing up here before this Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET. For Artist presales on Ticketmaster, no code is needed; access is tied to users’ accounts. The artist presale on SeatGeek for Cleveland will require a code, however. 

The artist presale begins on Oct. 13 at noon local time in the U.S. and Canada and Oct. 16 at noon local time in Mexico. General onsale ticketing begins here on Oct. 17 at noon local time for the U.S. and Canada, and 11 a.m. local time for the Mexico dates.

Additionally, these pre-sales will be available: