On March 29th, Rush made their live debut with new drummer Anika Nilles at the 2026 Juno Awards. This was the first time Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson had played together as Rush since the passing of drummer/lyricist Neil Peart in 2020. In some ways, as a long-time Rush fan, I figured it was inevitable that, at some point, Geddy and Alex would regroup in some fashion, but regrouping with a new drummer was definitely not on my bingo card. Honestly, I wish it hadn’t been.
I watched the performance, and I saw the excitement of the people there. I saw the excitement online and heard it from friends and peers. I didn’t share in that excitement. Musically, the band sounded tight, but something sounded off. They performed “Finding My Way,” and the minute Geddy started singing, I winced. Annika is a great drummer, but I didn’t get the feels like I would get when I’d hear Neil. I’m not saying she needs to be Neil because nobody can be. I didn’t feel the emotion to hear playing that I was so accustomed to hearing in Rush performances. I was actually sad.
As a fan of a band like Rush, I always expect a certain level of integrity, and, in all honesty, I didn’t feel this was the best move on their part. I get it. Geddy and Alex are just as important to the work of Rush, but the fact of the matter is that towards the end of their final tour, their age was already starting to get the best of them. Neil was struggling following his diagnosis of brain cancer, Alex had psoriatic arthritis, which made playing painful, and Geddy’s voice was very noticeably going to the point where, at times, it was painful to hear.
When the tour concluded, I was happy that they had called it a day. They were still fucking killer when I saw them on that last tour, but it was clear that their time had come to pack it in and leave behind a legacy to be discovered and loved by generations to come. I figured that was it, and when Neil passed away, I was 98.7% sure that they were done.
Fast forward to 2025, Geddy and Alex were encouraged by none other than Sir Paul McCartney. “Alex and I have done some serious soul searching and come to the decision that we fucking miss it,” Lee said in an October 2025 press release announcing their 2026 tour. “It’s time for a celebration of 50-something years of Rush music.”
When I heard this, my first thought was, “Fuck yes. They’re going to do a huge ass show, maybe a weekend-long festival or something.” When I saw that they had actually released a whole string of tour dates, I was pretty disappointed. Not because they were doing it without Neil, but because they were already struggling physically as it was, and I didn’t want to have to see or hear it.
I’ve heard so many artists who have gone past their prime—David Lee Roth, Kiss, and worst of all, Ozzy Osbourne. The thing is, I am a huge fan of all those mentioned acts, but they all stayed around long past their expiration date. It pains me to see Rush join them in the ranks. This isn’t the way I wanted to remember Rush. I wanted to remember them from that last show I saw them in Alpharetta, GA, on May 26, 2015: rough around the edges, still full of fire, and going out with two steps from the top.
So here we are. Rush has reunited, and Anika Nilles is joining them. Rush fans all over the world, young, old, and brand new, are going to get to see the music of Rush again, as well as a whole generation of kids who could only wish to see them live. For them, I hope Rush delivers the shows they want and need. I remember when Ozzy Osbourne “retired” in 1992, and, in my opinion, he was on top of his game and, without a doubt, one of the best. When he returned in 1994, he kept going until 2018, which was way too long. When Ozzy performed his last show in 2025, just before his death, he was frail, but his heart was in the right place. I just hated that that was my last memory of Ozzy if it had been from the night of August 18th, 1992.
For me, my last time seeing Rush is how I’d like to remember them. No matter how strong the temptation will be to see them, I won’t allow myself to get wrapped up in the nostalgia of it all.
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