Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee recently announced that they will perform again as Rush, with their new touring drummer Anika Nilles and many rock stars reacted to the news, including the Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash.
The guitarist talked with Loudwire Nights about Rush’s return and told the story of how he first met Alex Lifeson.
Slash recalls how he met Alex Lifeson and talks about Rush
“Alex, who I’d never met before, just a couple years ago, he did a cameo in a movie that I produced called ‘The Breach’. It was shot in Ontario. And my producing partner knew somebody that knew Alex or whatever, and he called me up and he goes, ‘What do you think about Alex for this character?’ Small part but important part in this movie, but a lot of dialogue.”
“And I was, like, ‘Well, if Alex is up to it, cool.’ And so after the movie was shot — I wasn’t there for the shoot; it was during Covid— and so I was in L.A. scoring and those guys were all in this hotel, this abandoned hotel in the woods in Ontario, and they couldn’t leave because of Covid. It was a really crazy production. But Alex shot his part from somewhere in his house, and he filmed it there. And when we were doing a screening, the first screening of the movie, Alex was there, and I flew in.”
He continued:
“And so we hung out and had a great time. We went to dinner and talked about all kinds of different stuff. But I could tell that he was really itching to go out and play, and he didn’t wanna go out and play in just whatever throw-together thing. He wanted to do something, but he didn’t seem to know what he wanted to do. Anyway, but I got that feeling, and I sort of felt bad for him ’cause I could tell that there’s a… I know how I would feel.”
“There’s a certain amount of frustration in not being able to just do what you wanna do. So with this announcement, I thought, ‘Man, that’s so cool, that they’re gonna go out there and they’ve got a great drummer and they’re gonna go out there and play.’ And she is going out there and honoring Neil. And I think it’s wonderful,” Slash said (Transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Rush 2026 tour dates
June
- 7 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum
- 9 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum
- 11 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum
- 13 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum
- 18 – Mexico City, MX – Palacio de los Deportes
- 24 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
- 26 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
- 28 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
- 30 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
July
- 16 – Chicago, IL – United Center
- 18 – Chicago, IL – United Center
- 20 – Chicago, IL – United Center
- 22 – Chicago, IL – United Center
- 28 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
- 30 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
August
- 1 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
- 3 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
- 7 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
- 9 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
- 11 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
- 13 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
- 21 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
- 26 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
September
- 2 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
- 12 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
- 17 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena
- 19 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena
- 23 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center
October
- 5 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
- 10 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
- 15 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
- 25 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
- 30 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
November
- 5 – Hollywood, FL – Seminole Hard Rock Live
- 9 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark Arena
- 20 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
- 25 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
December
- 1 – Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
- 10 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
- 15 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
