Geddy Lee Talks World Series, Set Lists, Touring into 2027, and More

Geddy Lee recently sat down with both Rolling Stone and The Globe and Mail to discuss Rush's upcoming 'Fifty Something' reunion tour in 2026. The interviews provided crucial details on the tour's genesis, the addition of new drummer Anika Nilles, the ambitious plans for the setlist, and expanding the tour into 2027.

In The Globe and Mail interview, Geddy discusses the moving experience both he and Alex had when performing in 2022 for the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert:

"...I think there was a moment when we played together so much that the question was just hanging in the air - should we take it further?" he said. "But Alex was very vocal about not wanting to do that." ... Before a tour could be considered, there were issues to clear up, including Lifeson's digestive problems, which required surgery in 2023. Concerned about the touring grind after so many years away, the pair went to a health clinic in Europe. Lifeson came back to Toronto "fired up," according to Lee.

"That's when we decided to take it to the next step." Despite the band and its infrastructure having been mothballed for a decade, the people they contacted to gauge the appetite for a reunion were "very bullish," Lee said. Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch of the U.S. management company Q Prime will run the tour. Live Nation is on board as the promoter. It was envisioned as a series of multinight residencies at arenas in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Cleveland, Mexico City and Fort Worth, Tex. Due to robust ticket sales, however, dates were added to the residencies, and more cities (including multiple nights in Montreal, Vancouver and Edmonton) were put on sale..."

Since the original tour announcement, Rush has significantly expanded the North American dates. On the topic of extending the tour abroad, Lee revealed there are discussions about an even longer run:

"...The tour has yet to begin, but already there is no end in sight, with concerts in Europe, South America and Asia being considered. "We're wrestling with extending the tour into 2027," Lee said. "I really don't know. We'll see how that all shakes down..."

In the Rolling Stone interview, Geddy discusses his excitement at watching his Toronto Blue Jays reach the fall classic; their first trip since their win back in 1993. Geddy also revealed intriguing information regarding the set lists he and Alex are preparing for the tour:

"...I don't really want to give our set list away because we are learning at the moment our set list contains over 38 songs, because we plan on changing the set every night. There will be a large percentage of songs that we will switch between nights. So if you come to say four shows in Toronto, you're going to hear four different sets. That's going to include a lot of songs, obviously. They are obviously the big favorites that you sort of have to have in the set list every night. But we really want to keep the set fresh. And right now, I'm working on five different sets for the shows. So we're going to move things around quite a bit and have a lot of fun, and hopefully that'll keep Alex and I fresh..."

Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for the news.