Rush found their way back to the stage last night (March 29th) for their first-ever public performance with new drummer Anika Nilles, which took place during the Juno Awards broadcast ceremony in Canada.
The beloved prog-rock act kicked off the broadcast at Hamilton, Ontario’s TD Coliseum — and, indeed, their 2026 reunion — with “Finding My Way,” the first song from their self-titled 1974 debut album, bassist Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson trading licks to the accompaniment of new timekeeper Nilles, who the band had announced would be taking over on drums for the upcoming run of reunion shows.
This marked the first time Lee and Lifeson had performed as Rush since completing 2015’s “R40 Live Tour” (drum icon and lyricist Neil Peart had passed away in 2020). The band’s rockin’ performance also featured new live synth player Loren Gold, who’d joined the band earlier this year but had previously toured with the Who.
You’ll find the Junos performance up above.
As previously reported, Rush begin their “Fifty Something” world tour later this year. The trip begins with four nights at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California in June, and runs off-and-on in North America until the end of 2026. They then hit Latin America and Europe in 2027.
You’ll find the full rundown of global dates here.
In related news, Despised Icon’s Shadow Work ended up taking home the trophy for “Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year,” in a field that also included records by Counterparts, Cryptopsy, Silverstein and Unreqvited.
Also, while Spiritbox didn’t receive an album nod in the Hard Music category, art director Kevin Moore and photographer Kyle Joinson received the “Album Artwork of the Year” Juno for their work on the djent-pop band’s Tsunami Sea.