{"id":45793,"date":"2026-08-15T03:29:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=45793"},"modified":"2026-08-15T03:29:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:29:06","slug":"rushs-geddy-lee-hated-alex-lifesons-tribute-band-comment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=45793","title":{"rendered":"RUSH&#8217;s Geddy Lee Hated Alex Lifeson&#8217;s &#8220;Tribute Band&#8221; Comment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RUSH.jpg?quality=80\" \/><\/p>\n<div data-id=\"1618288\" data-title=\"Geddy Lee Hated When Alex Lifeson Initially Likened a RUSH Reunion to a \u201cTribute Band\u201d\" data-url=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/08\/geddy-lee-hated-alex-lifeson-tribute-band-comment\/\" data-page=\"1\" data-pages=\"1\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/artist\/rush\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RUSH<\/a> are currently in the midst of a massive reunion tour, earning rave reviews from fans and critics alike. But prior to announcing their return, guitarist Alex Lifeson initially dismissed the idea of a reunion, saying they would just be the \u201ctop Rush tribute band,\u201d a statement that infuriated singer-bassist Geddy Lee.<\/p>\n<p>Lifeson <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2025\/01\/alex-lifeson-rush-reunion-tribute-band\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">made the comment<\/a> in a January 2025 interview with <em>Classic Rock<\/em>, saying at the time of a possible reunion following drummer Neil Peart\u2019s passing: \u201cRUSH went out on a high note playing as well as ever with one of our best stage shows on [then final tour] \u2018R40.\u2019 I guess I\u2019d rather be remembered for that legacy than returning as the top RUSH tribute band.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vivid-seats.pxf.io\/c\/1882189\/952533\/12730?subId1=rush%2Atribute-band-button&amp;subId2=&amp;subId3=&amp;sharedid=&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vividseats.com%2Frush-tickets%2Fperformer%2F745\" class=\"button button-ticket\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Get RUSH Tickets Here<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In a new interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/rush-cover-story-tour-interview-geddy-alex-1235607576\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><em>Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a>, Lee revealed that he was truly upset by Lifeson\u2019s remarks. \u201cI know how he feels and how he\u2019s felt for a long time,\u201d Lee said. \u201cWe\u2019re friends first. But\u2026 when I heard this thing about the tribute? It\u2019s like, \u2018They\u2019re your songs, motherfucker!\u2019 It\u2019s not a tribute band! We own those songs as much as we did with Neil. And they\u2019re part of us. They\u2019re part of your soul. They\u2019re part of your heart. And when we started playing them together again, that kind of woke up in him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Related Video<\/p>\n<p>Lifeson, meanwhile, suggested that he may have had an ulterior motive with his \u201ctribute band\u201d comment, admitting, \u201cMaybe I was trying to send a bit of a signal. I wanted to create this wall that I didn\u2019t have to climb over, by saying, \u2018Oh no, I don\u2019t wanna be in a Rush tribute band,\u2019 blah, blah, blah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, as the reunion started to take shape with new drummer Anika Nilles, things felt right for Lifeson, who noted, \u201cWhen we sat down, this was not about being in a RUSH tribute band. This is about being RUSH. In one of its best forms. And that was a whole different kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>RUSH\u2019s ongoing <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/06\/rush-reunion-tour-kickoff-show-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">North American \u201cFifty Something\u201d reunion tour<\/a> extends all the way into December, with <a style=\"display: inline !important;\" href=\"https:\/\/vivid-seats.pxf.io\/c\/1882189\/952533\/12730?subId1=rush&amp;subId2=neil-peart-bird&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vividseats.com%2Frush-tickets%2Fperformer%2F745\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">tickets available here<\/a>\u00a0(use code\u00a0<strong>CONSEQUENCE20<\/strong> to save $20 off orders of $200 or more at checkout). See <em>Consequence<\/em>\u2018s recaps of the tour launch at <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/06\/rush-reunion-tour-kickoff-show-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kia Forum<\/a> in Los Angeles and a recent show at <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/07\/rush-msg-photos-video-setlist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Madison Square Garden<\/a> in New York City.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\n\t\tn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=1;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\n\t\tdocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\tfbq('init', '1753966171496536');\n\t\tfbq('set','agent','tmgoogletagmanager', '1753966171496536');\n\t\tfbq('track', \"PageView\");\n\t<\/script><script defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&#038;version=v7.0&#038;appId=434175690014\" nonce=\"6gwmbCtM\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RUSH are currently in the midst of a massive reunion tour, earning rave reviews from fans and critics alike. But prior to announcing their return, guitarist Alex Lifeson initially dismissed the idea of a reunion, saying they would just be the \u201ctop Rush tribute band,\u201d a statement that infuriated singer-bassist Geddy Lee. Lifeson made the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/consequence.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RUSH.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}