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Rush Opens Fifty Something Tour at Kia Forum With Anika Nilles on Drums

June 8, 2026 | Entertainment

ID 128890496 | Geddy Lee © Michael Bush | Dreamstime.com

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson returned to the Kia Forum for the first time in 11 years, with German drummer Anika Nilles stepping into Neil Peart's seat.

Rush opened the Fifty Something Tour on Sunday, June 7, at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, the same venue where the band closed its R40 tour in 2015. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson performed a 22-song, three-hour set with German drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold, framing the entire evening as a tribute to late drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, who died of brain cancer in January 2020.

A Return to the Same Stage, Under Very Different Circumstances

Three thousand, nine hundred and sixty-four days separated Rush's final R40 show at The Forum in Inglewood and Sunday's opening night of the Fifty Something Tour at the same building, now branded the Kia Forum. The symmetry was intentional and loaded with meaning. Lee has said that he and Lifeson did serious soul searching before committing to the road again, ultimately deciding, in his words, that they ‘f, king miss it' and wanted ‘to pay tribute to our past and to Neil by performing a vast selection of Rush songs in a handful of cities.'

The show began at 7:35 p.m. with a six-minute intro video featuring a trio of young people searching for Rush inside a gothic castle, encountering characters from the band's universe: the sausage-maker from the 2010 Time Machine Tour, the owl from the Fly By Night album cover, and actors Jason Segel and Paul Rudd reprising their Rush-loving roles from the 2009 comedy I Love You, Man. It was a warm, self-aware opener that set the retrospective tone for everything that followed.

Peart's presence was woven throughout the night via vintage performance videos, audio recordings made before his death, and digital renderings. Lee had announced when the tour was revealed last October that every show would feature a tribute to Peart and ‘everything that he was to us,' and the execution went well beyond a simple memorial segment.

Anika Nilles Steps Into an Impossible Chair

The most scrutinized element of the evening was always going to be the drum chair. Nilles, whose first public performance with Rush came at the 2026 Juno Awards in March, made her full tour debut to a roughly 18,000-person crowd at the Kia Forum. By all accounts she delivered. Presiding over a sprawling kit, Nilles demonstrated command of Peart's signature cascade-of-drums technique, drawing particular cheers on percussion-forward pieces like ‘2112: Overture / The Temples of Syrinx / Grand Finale' and ‘YYZ.' The crowd also responded loudly when Lee introduced her by name.

Nilles was joined in the expanded touring lineup by keyboardist Loren Gold, giving Lee and Lifeson the instrumental support needed to reproduce the band's synthesizer-heavy catalog from the early 1980s, which featured prominently in the setlist.

One notable departure from Rush tradition: YYZ was performed without a drum solo, a choice that reads as deliberate restraint rather than limitation, given that the extended solo spotlight was so closely associated with Peart's live persona.

The Setlist: 22 Songs Across Five Decades

Lee and Lifeson had previously announced a rotating pool of 35 songs for the tour. Opening night drew 22 of them across two sets, spanning Rush's 1974 self-titled debut through 2012's Clockwork Angels, the band's 19th and final studio album. ‘Xanadu,' from 1977's A Farewell to Kings, opened the show, a song that had never previously opened a Rush set. ‘Time Stand Still' featured special guest Aimee Mann, who sang on the 1987 original and came out to duet with Lee during the performance.

The full setlist from opening night:

Set 1: Xanadu
Set 1: Limelight
Set 1: Far Cry
Set 1: Subdivisions
Set 1: Freewill
Set 1: Bravado
Set 1: Caravan
Set 1: La Villa Strangiato
Set 1: Vital Signs
Set 1: The Spirit of Radio
Set 2: 2112 Part I: Overture
Set 2: 2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx
Set 2: 2112 Part VII: Grand Finale
Set 2: Distant Early Warning
Set 2: Red Barchetta
Set 2: Dreamline
Set 2: Natural Science
Set 2: Time Stand Still (feat. Aimee Mann)
Set 2: Red Sector A
Set 2: YYZ
Set 2: The Garden
Set 2: Tom Sawyer
Encore: By-Tor and the Snow Dog
Encore: Working Man

Tour Dates: 88 Shows Across North America and Beyond

The Fifty Something Tour encompasses 88 shows, running through North America for the remainder of 2026 before moving to South America and Europe in 2027. After two additional Los Angeles dates, the run moves to Mexico City, Fort Worth, Chicago, New York, Toronto, and across the continent through the fall. Confirmed dates include:

Jun 09 — Kia Forum, Los Angeles, CA
Jun 11 — Kia Forum, Los Angeles, CA
Jun 13 — Kia Forum, Los Angeles, CA
Jun 18 — Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico
Jun 20 — Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico
Jun 24 — Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX
Jun 26 — Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX
Jun 28 — Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX
Jun 30 — Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX
Jul 16 — United Center, Chicago, IL
Jul 18 — United Center, Chicago, IL
Jul 20 — United Center, Chicago, IL
Jul 22 — United Center, Chicago, IL
Jul 28 — Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Jul 30 — Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Aug 01 — Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Aug 03 — Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Aug 07 — Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Aug 09 — Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Aug 11 — Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Aug 13 — Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Aug 21 — Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Aug 23 — Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Aug 26 — Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
Aug 28 — Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
Sep 02 — Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Sep 04 — Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Sep 12 — TD Garden, Boston, MA
Sep 14 — TD Garden, Boston, MA
Sep 17 — Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Sep 19 — Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Sep 23 — Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
Sep 25 — Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
Oct 05 — Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Oct 07 — Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Oct 10 — Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Oct 12 — Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
Oct 15 — SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Oct 17 — SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Oct 25 — Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
Oct 27 — Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
Oct 30 — Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
Nov 01 — Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT

What we know

Rush opened the Fifty Something Tour on June 7, 2026, at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, the same venue where the band ended its R40 tour in 2015.
The tour is the first time Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have toured without Neil Peart in more than 50 years.
Neil Peart died of brain cancer in January 2020 at age 67.
German drummer Anika Nilles is filling the drum chair; her first public performance with Rush was at the 2026 Juno Awards in March.
Keyboardist Loren Gold is also part of the expanded touring lineup.
The opening night set comprised 22 songs over three hours, drawn from a pre-announced rotating pool of 35 songs.
Aimee Mann appeared as a special guest to perform ‘Time Stand Still' with Lee, as she did on the 1987 original recording.
The Fifty Something Tour encompasses 88 shows, running through North America in 2026 and continuing to South America and Europe in 2027.

The take

What Rush is attempting with the Fifty Something Tour sits in genuinely uncharted territory for a band of their stature. Unlike the many legacy acts that have continued under a band name after losing a founding member, Lee and Lifeson have been explicit that this is a tribute, not a reinvention. That framing matters. It gives the tour a defined emotional purpose and, crucially, it sets a different standard for how Anika Nilles will be judged. She is not being asked to be Neil Peart; she is being asked to honor him faithfully while bringing her own considerable technique to the material. Her background as a drummer and composer with a strong following in the progressive and jazz-adjacent world makes her a credible choice for that specific task. The decision to skip the traditional drum solo on YYZ is telling in that regard; it signals that the band is navigating Peart's shadow with care rather than pretending it doesn't exist. Historically, tours built around tribute and legacy have resonated deeply with fan bases that feel a sense of unfinished grief, and Rush's audience, among the most devoted in rock, fits that profile precisely. The 88-date scale also signals genuine commercial confidence. Multi-night arena runs in New York, Chicago, Toronto, and Los Angeles are not the moves of a band testing the waters; they reflect a conviction that demand is real and sustained. Whether the South American and European legs materialize as planned will be worth watching as the North American run unfolds.

Why it matters

For Rush fans, the Fifty Something Tour represents the first opportunity in over a decade to experience the band's catalog performed live, and the first time ever without Peart in the lineup. The tour's explicit framing as a tribute gives it cultural weight beyond a standard reunion run. For the broader classic rock ecosystem, it raises a question the industry will be watching: can a band defined by the chemistry of a specific trio sustain arena-level demand when one third of that chemistry is gone? Opening night suggests the answer, at least in Los Angeles, is yes.

What's next

Rush plays two additional nights at the Kia Forum on June 9 and June 11 before moving to Mexico City's Palacio de los Deportes on June 18 and 20. The North American run continues through Fort Worth, Chicago, New York, Toronto, and beyond, with the full 88-show schedule extending through the end of 2026. South American and European dates are planned for 2027.

Frequently asked questions

Who is playing drums for Rush on the Fifty Something Tour?

German drummer and composer Anika Nilles is filling the drum chair. Her first public performance with Rush was at the 2026 Juno Awards in March.

What songs did Rush play on opening night of the Fifty Something Tour?

Rush played 22 songs over three hours, including ‘Xanadu,' ‘Tom Sawyer,' ‘Limelight,' ‘The Spirit of Radio,' sections of ‘2112,' ‘YYZ,' and ‘Working Man,' among others. ‘Time Stand Still' featured special guest Aimee Mann.

Why is the tour called Fifty Something?

The name reflects the band's roughly 50-year career since launching out of Toronto in the mid-1970s. The tour is billed as a celebration of that half-century of music and a tribute to the late Neil Peart.

How many shows are on the Rush Fifty Something Tour?

The tour encompasses 88 shows, running through North America for the rest of 2026 and continuing to South America and Europe in 2027.

When did Neil Peart die and why is he not on the tour?

Neil Peart died of brain cancer in January 2020 at age 67. The Fifty Something Tour is explicitly framed as a tribute to his legacy, with his presence honored throughout each show via videos, audio recordings, and digital renderings.