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 kickoff 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 set lists — 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.
