Inside Rush’s Triumphant Return: Our Full Interview with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

For Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson , playing Rush concerts has never been exactly easy — the insanely tricky, ever-shifting music they wrote for themselves made sure of that. Even so, no shows were ever as daunting as their four-night run at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum in June. The kick-off of Rush’s Fifty Something Tour marked their first shows since the devastating loss of drummer and lyricist Neil Peart in January 2020, and the first Rush concerts, period, in 11 years. Not to mention that the shows debuted touring drummer Anika Nilles , taking on the scariest gig imaginable, as well as keyboardist Loren Gold , who expanded the band to a four-piece for the first time.

Even in the face of all that pressure, the shows — which debuted the tour’s four revolving setlists — were wildly successful, with tributes to Peart helping one of rock’s most cerebral bands hit new heights of emotional impact. Two days after completing that triumphant initial run, Lee and Lifeson sat down in the basement studio of West Hollywood’s Sunset Marquis hotel to look back at what it took to get there. In the interview, conducted for a cover story in collaboration with Rolling Stone Canada , they talked for the first time about Lee’s reactions to Lifeson’s public reluctance to tour, about Lifeson’s newfound abstinence from THC, and much, much more. Below is a full, lightly edited text version of the interview, or watch the whole thing on YouTube.

It’s all felt pretty miraculous from the outside, but how did it feel the first night when you were taking your places, with double necks weighing on your spine and smoke everywhere, and you knew what you were about to unleash on that audience?

Geddy Lee: Last Sunday was a particularly nerve-wracking day for all of us. I think we all were trying to handle it, because we’re very well-rehearsed, but there’s no replacing opening night. It’s a very different atmosphere, and I know Anika was tight and I was focused. Before a show I’m always a little tunnel vision, as you have to be. Editor’s picks The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century

But there was a cumulative tense vibe. And then when we came up onstage and heard the crowd, you start to relax into it. I was really proud of us that night because we did one of the best versions of that set that we’ve done yet. And so we just were cruising, and I kept saying to myself after each song, “There’s another one down.”

And then we’d go in the next one and go, “That was pretty good. OK, another one down.” I kept looking over at Anika to make sure she was cool and relaxed, and she was smiling, so I think we kinda found ourselves on that first night. I really think it was just one of those rare —

Alex Lifeson: Great gigs. It’s funny. When we walked up onstage, the film is still running, and we’re behind the screen and just getting ready. And I was surprisingly not really that nervous like I expected to be. Normally I’d have butterflies, and my heart would be racing. But I was relaxed.

Just, “Yeah, I got this.