Rush frontman/bassist Geddy Lee says there is every possibility that the band will release new material together once the Canadian prog icons’ blockbuster reunion tour is over.
Speaking to MusicRadar, Lee admits that the preparations for Rush’s 50 Something Tour have maxed-out their attention. He, guitarist Alex Lifeson and Anika Nilles – who steps in to fill the late, great Neil Peart’s role on drums – are too busy right now trying to learn some 40 songs to fill out the setlist to be actively thinking about new music.
But Lee has given some thought as to what will come after the tour – and he has every intention of going back into songwriting mode.
“My intent, before we got into this celebration of Rush’s history, was to put some music together,” he says. “Now, I assumed I would be doing that on my own, not with Alex, but when we started jamming, I started seeing the possibility of doing something with Alex – but all of that went on hold now because there’s too much work.
“There’s too much work to do for this tour to even think about that. But if we manage to survive the tour, and go back to Canada and have a rest, who knows what’ll happen, but I suspect some music will eventually come out.”
In the past few years, Lifeson has occupied himself with his new project, Envy Of None, playing alongside his old friend Andy Curran of Coney Hatch fame on bass guitar, the brilliant Maiah Wynne fronting the band. Envy Of None have released two albums in that time.
Lifeson wasn’t the only former member of Rush with a creative itch to scratch. Once Lee had put the pen down on his memoir, My Effin’ Life, he wanted to make music again.
“After I finished my book tour, in early 2024, I was hungry for a new project, and I decided that my next project was gonna be musical, some kind of musical project,” he says. “So I was getting my fingers in shape again. I was writing lyrics, and I was pretty happy to do that, and my fingers needed some attention.”
When Al got wind that I was prepping for something, he just called me, said, ‘Hey, let’s jam.’ I said, ‘Yeah, great. Come on over’
Believe it or not, Lee still had some bass guitars in his collection. He decided it was time to dust the cobwebs off and put them to work. That’s when Lifeson came calling.
“My basses were lonely downstairs in my studio without my company,” he says. “And when Al got wind that I was prepping for something, he just called me, said, ‘Hey, let’s jam.’ I said, ‘Yeah, great. Come on over.’ So, we fucked around, recorded some stuff for fun, jammed. And at the end of that jam, it was like, ‘Hey, let’s play a Rush song. Let’s see if we can remember this song. We pulled out a song, we started playing it. We fucked it up, of course.”
That’s understandable. It takes a bit of time to get back into the swing of things. But Lee and Lifeson’s jam got the ball rolling for a reunion tour that was originally scheduled for seven dates, sold out in quick time, and was soon expanded to 17 cities across the Canada, the US and Mexico.
Once the dust settles, Lee is intrigued to see what the three of them can come up with. It would be too good an opportunity to waste.
“Yeah, especially if Anika can still stand us! [Laughs] It would be fun to see what she can do in a creative situation,” says Lee. “Like, that would be fun. But it’s all speculation until it isn’t, so…”
So, onwards… Rush’s Fifty Something 2026 Tour kicks off on 7 June at the KIA Forum, Los Angeles. See the official Rush website for dates and ticket details.
In other Rush news, the band has announced that a Super Deluxe edition of their 1984 album Grace Under Pressure will be released in March 2026, with the reissue featuring a set of remixes from longstanding Rush producer Terry Brown alongside the original album versions. Just don’t ask Lee which one he prefers. He likes them both.
“Terry called Alex and I, and he said, ‘Guys, I’d like to remix this record. What do you think?’ I said, ‘Sure. Have at it!’ Nothing to lose, everything to gain,” says Lee. “It’s not gonna change that version that fans love. But it’s another take, and I think it sounds great. I think he did a great job because he is a good producer, and because Peter Henderson did a terrific job recording that record, it’s kind of a win-win.”
Grace Under Pressure Super Deluxe Edition is available to pre-order here.
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