Rush's Alex Lifeson has "totally fallen in love" with touring again
He also lavishes Anika Nilles with praise
Last updated 24th Sep 2026
Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson says he has “totally fallen in love” with touring again, despite his initial reservations.
11 years after their last global trek, Rush kicked off their sprawling 92-date Fifty Something Tour in Los Angeles in June and it hits the UK and Europe in spring 2027.
In an interview with Tom Power of Canada's CBC Radio One, Alex was asked what it’s like playing live with touring drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold.
"It feels fantastic, to be honest,” Alex enthused. “I think all the fears that I had starting out, whether physically I would be up to it, whether my hands would work as well as I expected. Because like Geddy was saying, you wanna go beyond what the previous gig was.
“Once we started playing and I felt confident and good about my physical condition, I really fell in love with it. I love the songs, I love playing with Anika. Anika's a brilliant musician, and she's a wonderful person. She has a great sense of humour. We've become really quite close in the two years that we've been working with her, because it has been a while. So I'm really, really excited.”
Reflecting on his initial reservations, Alex continued: “I have to admit that maybe perhaps I wasn't quite so excited when it was just a concept. I had reservations about it, mostly health-related reservations. But I got my health in order, relatively. And the key was to be able to play the way I felt I needed to play. So, I've just fallen totally in love with it and now I'm the guy who wants to do more gigs!”
Geddy Lee then added (via Blabbermouth): "I know. It's just unbelievable to hear him say that. But it wasn't a simple journey to get back on stage. And I know we're not really here to talk about that; we're here to talk about Neil. But Neil's presence is always there. I mean, it really is, in so many ways.
“We pay tribute to him during the show, of course, and I try to tell stories about him and try to give people a look behind the songs as to how they came together and what we feel about each other and him."
The Neil Peart documentary Neil Peart: No One's Disciple premiered on CBC Gem in Canada last night (23rd September). It’s currently unclear when it will get an international release.
Rush’s Fifty Something Tour hits the UK in March 2027 for two nights at Glasgow OVO Hydro and Manchester Co-op Live and a three-night residency at London’s The O2.
Tickets are on sale from Planet Rock Tickets now.