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Rush Returns: 58-Show Tour Hits 500K Tickets, Adds 2027 Dates

6/9/2026

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Summary

Rush Launches Tour

Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Anika Nilles opened Rush’s Fifty Something tour at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on June 7, 2026 with “Xanadu” and a set that included “Freewill,” first since 2011.
Neil Peart tributes featured a montage, “Bravado,” and Aimee Mann on “Time Stand Still.”
The leg expanded to 58 concerts, selling 500,000 tickets and added 2027 South American and European dates, first in those regions over a decade.

Summary

Anika Nilles Reigns

Rush performed its first official concert since 2015, marking an 11-year return to the stage.
Anika Nilles took Neil Peart’s throne and executed complex paradiddles while striking nearly a dozen cymbals.
Critics noted that Anika Nilles kept a furrowed brow throughout, mirroring Neil Peart’s famously intense demeanor.
Reviewers described the three-hour set as a coronation for Anika Nilles and called the repertoire the most fearsome in pop music.

History

Historical Context

Rush’s 2004 R30 world tour marked the band’s return after Neil Peart recovered from a brain tumor, with the Frankfurt concert filmed on September 24, 2004 and released as a DVD the following year. The 2026 Fifty Something tour echoes that comeback, featuring guest drummer Anika Nilles at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum and extending into South America and Europe.

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Rush Launches Tour

Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Anika Nilles opened Rush’s Fifty Something tour at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on June 7, 2026 with “Xanadu” and a set that included “Freewill,” first since 2011.
Neil Peart tributes featured a montage, “Bravado,” and Aimee Mann on “Time Stand Still.”
The leg expanded to 58 concerts, selling 500,000 tickets and added 2027 South American and European dates, first in those regions over a decade.

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