TORONTO — If it weren’t for a spa retreat, Rush bassist Geddy Lee says plans for the band’s 2026 reunion tour might’ve never taken shape.
The Toronto musician credits a European getaway with guitarist Alex Lifeson as one of the “deciding” factors in launching a concert tour next summer.
Lee said they had batted around the possibility of a Rush reunion, but thought that Lifeson’s ongoing health issues made it impossible for the two 72-year-olds to hit the road. Then, one of their mutual friends offered up a suggestion.
“(He said,) there’s a clinic in Europe that specializes in the issues Alex has struggled with over the last number of years, and he sort of convinced him to go,” Lee said.
“For moral support, I said, ‘I’ll go with you, let’s both go. We can get healthy together.’”
Lifeson has spoken about his recent health struggles, including stomach surgery two years ago, which left him with gastroparesis, a condition that slows food digestion and can cause discomfort and weight gain. In January, Lee joined him at the health resort in Austria.
“We spent a couple of weeks there. It was really life-changing. (Alex) dropped a bunch of weight. I was recovering from knee surgery at the time, so it didn’t do me any harm,” Lee said.
“When he came back, he was a different guy. He was feeling great and very optimistic. I think that’s when he knew that he could manage his diet and health in a way that would allow him to do some shows.”
Last month, Rush surprised their fans by announcing a 12-date reunion tour. The initial response was so strong that they more than quadrupled the number to 58 shows and added stops in new cities.
Expanding the tour so quickly wasn’t part of the original proposal, Lee said.
Initially, he and Lifeson wanted to book arena dates in big cities where fans could easily travel, calling the approach an “experiment, in a way, to see how well our bodies would hold up.”
Rush’s management had other ideas after the first shows sold out. They mapped out additional concert dates and approached the musicians with a case for how they could finish them.
“We were kind of freaked out when we actually said yes,” he said.
“We looked at each other and said, ‘Can we handle this?’ Then we said, ‘Hey, you only go around once.’ We’ve both been in the gym … and we’re determined to be in tip-top shape as much as is in our control.”
Rush kicks off their Fifty Something tour on June 7, 2026 in Inglewood, Calif., and wraps with two nights in Vancouver on Dec. 15 and 17. Along the way, they’ll stop in Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton, among many U.S. cities.
This is the first time Rush has toured since 2015. Their drummer, Neil Peart, died from an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2020 and German drummer Anika Nilles will replace him on the reunion tour.
Lee said they’ve rehearsed at least 19 songs with Nilles so far, with about 38 songs on their ultimate set list. They plan to hire an additional keyboardist who will step in for Lee.
“Every time we play those songs, it’s more fun,” he said.
“By the time the tour starts, we’ll have months of rehearsal under our belt.”
So far, Lee has no regrets about Rush’s comeback, though he said it’s impossible to ignore that Peart is the missing piece of their original trio.
“When we used to have meetings, it was the three of us … talking about the future,” he said.
“Now it’s just me and Al. Being the buddies we are, it’s taken our friendship a little deeper.”
As for the reunion itself, Lee said he can’t help but feel optimistic.
“The world is crazy right now,” he added.
“I think when you find something that makes you happy, you have to follow it.”
