SLASH On ALEX LIFESON And GEDDY LEE's Decision To Tour As RUSH Again: 'I Think It's Wonderful'

In a new interview with Chuck Armstrong of Loudwire Nights, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash weighed in on the announcement that RUSH was reuniting for a tour next year. The limited run of summer and fall 2026 dates — bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson's first official shows under the RUSH banner in 11 years — will begin at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, site of the last RUSH concert on the legendary Canadian band's "R40" anniversary tour. Joining the duo on the trek will be German drummer Anika Nilles, who toured with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck in 2022 and has been rehearsing with Lee and Lifeson in preparation for the tour, dubbed "Fifty Something".

Slash told Loudwire Nights (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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'. And 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. 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 [late RUSH drummer] Neil [Peart]. And I think it's wonderful."

Slash previously talked about meeting Alex during a 2023 interview with Banger TV to promote "The Breach", which was directed by Rodrigo Gudiño. Addressing how Lifeson took on a fill-in acting role in part of the film, Slash said: "Rodrigo called me up, and he goes, 'What do you think about Alex Lifeson?' I was, like, 'Are you kidding? That would be fucking awesome.' So I was really happy that he came in and did that."

Slash added: "I know Alex, but I've never jammed with him or anything. I don't know him that well, but he's a really nice guy, and the fact that he's in this is really cool."

RUSH will perform multiple shows in cities across Canada, the United States and Mexico, beginning June 7, 2026 at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles. These special "evening with" shows will find the band playing two sets each night. Each show will feature a distinct selection of songs and RUSH will build each night's setlist from a catalogue of 35 songs including their greatest hits and fan favorites.

After Lee and Lifeson announced RUSH's initial 2026 tour dates in early October, they instantly sold out. They then doubled the tour's length due to increased demand before adding even more dates to the trek.

At the moment, the "Fifty Something" tour is scheduled to stretch into the fall and early winter, with sold-out shows in Chicago, Cleveland, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York and Toronto, as well as dates in Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., to name a few.

Peart died in January 2020 after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 67 years old.

RUSH waited three days to announce Peart's passing, setting off shockwaves and an outpouring of grief from fans and musicians all over the world.

Since Peart's death, Lifeson and Lee have not recorded any new music or performed live under the RUSH name, although both of them confirmed that several drummers reached out to them in the days after the legendary drummer's passing about the possibility of stepping in for Neil.