Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have not shared a stage since August 1, 2015 — the final night of Rush’s R40 Tour at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, a show that most of the room understood, even then, was the end of something. Nobody could have fully processed that it would also be the last time Neil Peart would play a stage. Six years after Peart’s death in 2020, the Fifty Something Tour brings Lee and Lifeson back. Montréal gets two nights; the second is Friday, September 4, at Centre Bell.
About the Show
Rush accumulated most of what matters over four-plus decades: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, a Canadian Music Hall of Fame berth, seven Grammy nominations, a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, and a catalog that runs from the 20-minute title suite of 2112 (1976) through the synthesizer pivot of Signals (1982) to the final studio album Clockwork Angels (2012). The Fifty Something Tour draws on that whole arc, delivering two sets per night drawn from a pool of 35 songs, while acknowledging that the band as it existed is not what’s taking the stage. Filling the drum chair is Anika Nilles, a 41-year-old German virtuoso who logged more than 60 shows with Jeff Beck and carries the kind of résumé in complex time signatures that this music demands. Lee, who will focus on vocals while additional backing musicians expand the sound, explained the decision to tour without ceremony: “After all that has gone down since that last show, Alex and I have done some serious soul searching and come to the decision that we f——ing miss it.” Peart’s widow, Carrie Nuttall-Peart, and daughter Olivia gave the tour their explicit endorsement: “We are thrilled to support the Fifty Something Tour, celebrating a band whose music has resonated and inspired fans for generations, and to honor Neil’s extraordinary legacy as both a drummer and lyricist.”
Venue & Logistics
This is the second of two consecutive Montréal shows; Rush played Centre Bell on September 2 before this date, making the city a brief residency stop before the tour moves on to Boston. This is show number 28 of a 2026 routing that launched June 7 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles — the same building where the 2015 R40 finale played out, a detail that was clearly deliberate. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; the show begins at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster Canada. Buy tickets — or browse more upcoming shows in the north country region at Upstate Concerts.