What Has Rush Done Since Their Last Concert?

On Aug. 1, 2015, at The Forum in Los Angeles, Rush played what many believed would be the band’s final concert. It was the last date of their 40th Anniversary R40 Live Tour, and though the group hadn’t come right out and said it yet, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart knew this was their swan song.

“I looked at my bandmates and missed them already,” Lifeson later recalled. “And I felt sad to see such joy in Neil’s face when we were down to the last few bars of our last song played together.”

Peart’s death in 2020 seemed to cement the end of Rush. In interviews, Lee and Lifeson kept the door open to working together again in some fashion, though it seemed likely it’d happen under a different name.

READ MORE: Rush Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Then, something changed. In August 2022, the surviving members joined South Park co-creator Matt Stone and Primus for a special performance at the South Park: The 25th Anniversary Concert. A month later, Lee and Lifeson joined forces again, playing classic Rush tunes at a pair of concerts honoring late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.At the London tribute concert, Paul McCartney emphatically encouraged the musicians to tour as Rush once more.

Perhaps something Macca said stuck with the rockers, because Rush is indeed returning. On June 7, Lee, Lifeson and new drummer Anika Nilles will launch the Fifty Something tour, covering North America in 2026 before going overseas next year. The trek is designed to celebrate the music and legacy of Rush, and it all starts in the same venue as their final show with Peart: The Forum in Los Angeles.

As fans eagerly await Rush’s return, here’s a look at what the band’s members have done since their last show.

Neil Peart

Peart’s declining health was the primary factor behind Rush’s decision to retire from the road. Despite enduring glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, the drummer kept his diagnosis hidden from the public up until his death in 2020. Impressively, he remained active in his last years on earth, balancing passion projects with family time.

READ MORE: Neil Peart Through the Years: Photo Gallery

In 2016, Peart released the book Far and Wide: Bring That Horizon to Me!, which chronicled his travels during Rush’s R40 Live Tour. The drummer also worked with science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson on the third and final installation of their Clockwork Angels novel series, which was released in 2022. Peart's final book, Silver Surfers: Sports Cars of the Sixties, focused on the rocker’s love of fine automobiles. It was published posthumously in 2024.

Geddy Lee

Bassist Geddy Lee remained busy following Rush’s conclusion of touring. In 2017, he joined bandmate Alex Lifeson onstage at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, where they inducted prog-rock legends Yes. Geddy also performed with Yes that night, filling in for their late bassist, Chris Squire.

Lee also used his time off to pen three books. Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass, released in 2018, highlighted the rocker’s extensive collection of basses, and featured interviews with a wide range of famous musicians. He followed that up with My Effin' Life, Lee’s long-awaited autobiography, in 2023. Two years later, the bassist shared another of his great passions with 72 Stories: From the Baseball Collection of Geddy Lee. The book looked at the history of baseball through Lee’s incredible assortment of memorabilia.

READ MORE: Top 10 Geddy Lee Rush Songs

Speaking of baseball, Lee has been a regular presence at games for his beloved Toronto Blue Jays. The bassist was seen in the crowd throughout Toronto’s run to the World Series in 2025, which ultimately ended in game 7 when the Blue Jays fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In between books and baseball commitments, Lee also found the time to create his own TV series, Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?. The show, which was released in 2023, featured the Rush rocker chatting with other famous bassists, including Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic, Metallica’s Robert Trujillo and Primus’ Les Claypool.

Lee and Lifeson also regularly remained in contacted, getting together and occasionally jamming. In 2024, the bandmates teamed up for a surprise performance at the Gordon Lightfoot tribute concert in Toronto, yet another sign hinting at a possible Rush reunion.

Alex Lifeson

What does a guitarist who has played in one of the most acclaimed trios in rock history do once that band has retired? Simple – he collaborates with even more incredible musicians!

After Rush announced they were done, Alex Lifeson began working with a wide swath of artists. His list of collaborators over the last 11 years is as impressive as it is varied. Triumph’s Rik Emmett, stoner rockers Fu Manchu, former Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty, German composer Marco Minnemann, blues legend John Mayall, former Eagle Don Felder and Rage Against the Machine maestro Tom Morello are just some of the amazing artists Lifeson worked with since Rush’s end.

Amazingly, the guitarist’s output didn’t end there. Lifeson released a pair of solo singles in 2021, and followed that up with a full-fledged side project called Envy of None. The group sees Lifeson joining forces with bassist Andy Curran, vocalist Maiah Wynne, and guitarist and keyboardist Alfio Annibalini. Envy of None released their self-titled debut album in 2022, and followed with a sophomore release in 2025.

READ MORE: The 35 Songs Rush Could Play on Their Reunion Tour

Like Lee, Lifeson’s post-Rush work hasn’t been limited to music. The guitarist wrote the foreword for three books, Shredders!: The Oral History of Speed Guitar (And More) (2017), Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass (2018) and Domenic Troiano: His Life and Music (2021).

Unfortunately, there’s one other project of Lifeson’s that didn’t pan out. In 1994, the rocker co-founded a restaurant and music venue in Toronto called The Orbit Room. Rising rent costs, expensive insurance premiums and complications brought on by Coivd-19 pandemic led to its closure in 2020.