Fifty Something – Rush’s long-awaited return to the road arrived with instant sellout momentum and a demanding opening-night set—24 songs across two sets, powered by Anika Nilles on drums after Neil Peart’s 2020 death.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The first night of Rush’s Fifty Something Tour didn’t feel like a typical comeback. It arrived after a gap that even longtime followers didn’t expect to outlast them.
Rush’s return to touring comes after the band’s esteemed drummer. Neil Peart. died in 2020. and it is also their first tour period since 2015. Demand for the prog-rockers surprised even Rush stalwarts Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. with ticket sellouts in the first seven cities announced before the band expanded the run.
Added 17 more markets—now on the calendar for audiences in places including Philadelphia. Washington. D.C. Seattle. and Glendale. Arizona—while the tour’s launch itself moved fast. The kickoff was June 7, at the first of four shows at the KIA Forum outside of Los Angeles. Over two sets, the band blitzed through 24 songs, with a 25-minute intermission after the first 10.
That mid-show pause landed right after early highlights including “Subdivisions. ” “Vital Signs. ” and “The Spirit of Radio.” When the music restarted. Lee and Lifeson—both in their early 70s—leaned into Rush’s signature time changes and musical twists with visible joy. while the band’s newest onstage force. Anika Nilles on drums. won over the crowd from her first cymbal crash.
Nilles joined Lee and Lifeson for a set that reached across five decades of music-making. The band went deep on tracks including “Natural Science” and “By-Tor and the Snow Dog. ” while also pressing the buttons that have anchored Rush concerts for years: “Limelight” and “Time Stand Still.” Aimee Mann also reprised her vocal role during the performance.
Nilles reportedly learned 40 songs for the tour, and that detail matters because it suggests what many fans already suspect: setlist shuffling may show up from night to night.
The sequence of the opener also tracks the band’s central challenge and promise—keeping Rush’s complexity intact while moving forward after Peart’s death. The first night’s blend of deep cuts and recognizable hits shows how the tour is built to satisfy longtime listeners while giving Nilles room to prove what she can do behind the kit.
For fans looking for specifics, here are all of the songs played on opening night of the Fifty Something Tour:
“Xanadu”
“Limelight”
“Far Cry”
“Subdivisions”
“Freewil”
“Bravado”
“Caravan”
“La Villa Strangiato”
“Vital Signs”
“The Spirit of Radio”
“2112 Part I: Overture”
“2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx”
“2112 Part VII: Grand Finale”
“Distant Early Warning”
“Red Barchetta”
“Dreamline”
“Natural Science”
“Time Stand Still”
“Red Sector A”
“YYZ”
“The Garden”
“Tom Sawyer”
“By-Tor & The Snow Dog”
“Working Man”.
Rush Fifty Something Tour Neil Peart Anika Nilles Geddy Lee Alex Lifeson KIA Forum Inglewood setlist prog rock concert news ticket demand
24 songs?? That’s insane, I thought they were just doing like one big tribute thing not a full workout.
So wait Neil Peart died and they’re still touring like normal? Not judging, just feels weird. Also Anika Nilles drummer now? How does that even work with the old stuff.
Maybe it’s not even really Rush unless Peart is there tho. Like I’m sure she can play, but the timing changes and everything… idk. Also they added markets including Philly and DC right? That part sounds like they already planned this forever.
I saw the headline and thought it meant 24 years, lol. But apparently it’s 24 songs across two sets, okay. Glendale Arizona?? That’s random. KIA Forum too, I always forget that exists. Curious how they handled the intermission right after those songs like Subdivisions and Spirit of Radio.