Watch: GEDDY LEE And ALEX LIFESON Speak At World Premiere Of NEIL PEART Documentary 'No One's Disciple' At Toronto International Film Festival

RUSH bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson spoke briefly on Wednesday night (September 16) at Princess Of Wales Theatre in their hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada ahead of the world premiere of "Neil Peart: No One's Disciple" at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film, which commemorates the life and career of the band's late drummer, documents the late Canadian musician's tough start as a young artist, followed by his meteoric rise. The documentary includes interviews with Lee and Lifeson, alongside reflections of other acclaimed drummers. It also features Lee and Lifeson's new live performances of RUSH classics — with the likes of Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS),Stewart Copeland (THE POLICE) and Danny Carey (TOOL) filling Peart's seat at the drum kit. Directed by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn — who previously directed the 2010 RUSH documentary "Beyond The Lighted Stage" — the 96-minute film will receive a subsequent public screening on September 19. It will also air on Canada's CBC network on September 23 as part of the series "The Passionate Eye".

In his "Neil Peart: No One's Disciple" introduction at the Toronto International Film Festival, Geddy stated about the film (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Tonight you're gonna see a very interesting look at this guy that you think you know, and you're gonna see the depth of his musical legacy, and you're gonna learn about friendship and how it runs both ways between the people he loved in the drum community and how they loved him back, which is really cool, and the wider circle of friends and what impact he had on their lives. So I'm very grateful that this moment has arrived where this stuff can be shared. So, thank you for coming."

Alex added: "I'll just echo what Ged said. He encapsulated everything about the film, what an amazing person [Neil] was. There's a whole side of him that a lot of you don't really know. He was very, very funny. He was a sweet friend, and he was extremely loyal. And hopefully you'll get to see a little more of that. And it's certainly reflected in Chad and the other guys that played with us."

In a separate interview with The Canadian Press on the red carpet at last night's premiere, Alex was asked how Neil would react to knowing that a documentary has been made about him. Lifeson said: "Well, I think it would be a little embarrassing for him. He didn't like to have a lot of attention. But at the same time, I think he would be very respectful and feel very warm about all the reaction and comments made by all his friends."

Geddy added: "He was one third of this band. We worked together, we sweated together, we failed together, we triumphed together. So, he brought a huge amount of intelligence, talent, a good nature and humor to our band."

Lifeson also talked about RUSH's current tour with Anika Nilles, a German drummer who toured with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck in 2022, and newly added keyboardist Loren Gold, who is best known as touring member of THE WHO and CHICAGO. The June 7 show at Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California was the kick-off gig of the "Fifty Something" tour, which marks RUSH's first with the band's revamped lineup of classic members Lee (vocals, bass) and Lifeson (guitar) alongside Nilles and Gold. Alex said: "The tour is fine. It's a different tour. We have a couple of moments of the show where we have a tribute for [Neil]. We think about him all the time. Geddy speaks about him throughout the whole show, so he's always with us. But it's a different thing now. We're moving forward and we have a different arrangement. And it's all in celebration of his life and everything that he's given us."

The 2026 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 10 through September 20.

Peart died on January 7, 2020 in Santa Monica, California after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 67 years old.

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

In 2022, Lee revealed that Peart wanted to keep his cancer diagnosis a secret prior to his death.

"[Peart] didn't want anyone to know [about his illness]," Lee said on Canadian talk show "House Of Strombo". "He just didn't. He wanted to keep it in the house. And we did. And that was hard. I can't tell you it was easy, 'cause it was not easy. And it was ongoing. His diagnosis was… he was given 18 months at the most, and it went on three and a half years. And so that was a constant flow of us going to see him, giving him support."

Lee went on to say that he and Lifeson had to be "dishonest" to fans in order to protect Peart's privacy.

"What his family had to live through was really difficult, so it was a lot of back-and-forth," he said. "And when you're in that state, it's very hard to function normally, because you can't talk to anybody about it, 'cause no one's supposed to know. And so people hear rumblings and they bring things up to you, and you deflect it. And so that feels, on one hand, it feels dishonest, but on the other hand you're being loyal to your friend. So fuck the dishonesty part. That wins."

He continued: "I would say that was the most difficult time for us to move forward, during that whole thing, because we were in this bubble of grief sort of walking towards an inevitable and terrible conclusion."

RUSH is currently performing multiple shows in cities across Canada, the United States and Mexico. These special "evening with" shows find the band playing two sets each night. Each show features a distinct selection of songs, and RUSH builds each night's setlist from a catalog of around 40 tracks, including its greatest hits and fan favorites.

After Lee and Lifeson announced RUSH's initial 2026 tour dates in early October 2025, they instantly sold out. They then doubled the tour's length due to increased demand before adding even more dates to the trek.