Geddy Lee says RUSH were “starting from scratch” in preparing 38 songs for the band’s upcoming “Fifty Something” tour. The reveal comes during a new interview with YouTube personality Rick Beato.
Lee told Beato, “Our initial list was 45 songs. Then you start working through them and still do justice to and which ones are too much of a pain to relearn and which ones you really love.”
The setlist of RUSH shows on their Fifty Something tour will wind up being 38 of those songs played over the course of multiple nights in each city. A main challenge for the band was teaching new drummer Anika Nilles the idiosyncrasies of the material.
RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson, who made a surprise appearance during the interview, said, “In the past, we would plan a couple of months maybe, six weeks, on our own. We’d have a list of about four hours’ worth of music. Then we’d sort of whittle it down to what the show would probably be. And then we would have a month together. So you’ve already prepped, and then we’re together for a month, and then we would go into full production somewhere in an arena somewhere for maybe 10 days, and then the tour would start. So we have the benefit of four months, basically, of prep. This time around, Anika had to learn all these songs.”
Geddy Lee elaborated, “And one important thing that goes unmentioned is when you’re preparing for a tour, when we would prepare for a tour with [late drummer] Neil [Peart], we’re working really on new material that we just recorded, because the old stuff we knew. For this tour, we’re starting from scratch and we’re really teaching an incredibly talented, exciting drummer that comes from a very different school of music how to understand 40 songs from this weird, idiosyncratic band. That’s a horse of an entirely different color.”
Nilles is filling the legendary shoes of Peart, who passed away from brain cancer in 2020. Lee revealed in the same interview that she was the only drummer they auditioned for the role.
RUSH will kick off their North American tour with a four-night stand in Los Angeles beginning June 7th, with tickets to the outing available here. The extensive outing is comprised of two North American legs that run through the end of the year, as well as international dates scheduled for the first half of 2027.
Watch the full interview with Rick Beato below.
Rush 2026 North American Tour Dates:
06/07 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
06/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
06/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
06/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
06/18 – Mexico City, MX @ Palacio de los Deportes
06/20 – Mexico City, MX @ Palacio de los Deportes
06/24 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
06/26 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
06/28 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
06/30 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
07/16 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
07/18 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
07/20 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
07/22 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
07/28 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/30 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/01 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/03 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/07 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
08/09 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
08/11 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
08/13 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
08/21 — Philadelphia, PA @ Xfinity Mobile Arena
08/23 — Philadelphia, PA @ Xfinity Mobile Arena
08/26 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
08/28 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
09/02 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
09/04 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
09/12 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
09/14 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
09/17 – Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Arena
09/19 – Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Arena
09/23 — San Antonio, TX @ Frost Bank Center
09/25 — San Antonio, TX @ Frost Bank Center
10/05 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
10/07 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
10/10 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
10/12 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
10/15 — San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
10/17 — San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
10/25 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
10/27 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
10/30 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
11/01 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
11/05 — Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live
11/07 — Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live
11/09 — Tampa, FL @ Benchmark International Arena
11/11 — Tampa, FL @ Benchmark International Arena
11/20 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
11/22 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
11/25 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
11/27 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
12/01 — Glendale, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena
12/03 — Glendale, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena
12/10 — Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
12/12 — Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
12/15 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
12/17 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
