In a full-circle moment that effectively launched the band’s 50th-ish anniversary tour, Rush performed in public with new drummer, Anika Nilles, for the first time at Canada’s Juno Awards in Hamilton, Ontario on Sunday night.
Not only did the group choose to return at their beloved home country’s version of the Grammy Awards, they chose to perform “Finding My Way,” the first song from their first album, the only Rush album not to feature the late Neil Peart, their legendary drummer who died in 2020.
The group, accompanied by keyboardist Loren Gold, who will also be on the tour, roared through the song, which found 72-year-old frontman Geddy Lee singing in the high register that was a defining characteristic of their early days. but, all eyes were on former Jeff Beck drummer Nilles, who played behind a kit emblazoned with the group’s early logo on the bass drum. While the song is not the famously virtuoso group’s most technically complicated track by any stretch, Nilles embellished it with florid fills that showed off her skill without overplaying. Guitarist Alex Lifeson finished the song facing the drummer, and the group was all smiles as they finished.
The band’s performance was accompanied by archival video footage, including many shots of Peart, playing on the giant video screen behind them.
The performance was the Lee and Lifeson’s first as Rush since they finished their 40 th anniversary tour in 2015, although they have performed under their own names on occasion, including tributes to legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters.
The band’s “Fifty Something” tour launches on June 7 in Los Angeles, the site of that final concert with Peart in August of 2015.
Source: variety.com
