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Iconic prog-rockers Rush may be currently delighting fans on a much lauded international tour, but the Canadian Music Hall of Famers are already prepping for the next high-profile gig: a week-long residency at the Sphere.
On Thursday, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson announced the five-concert series, dubbed Elevate from the Norm, set for late May at the immersive Las Vegas venue.
The dates are mere weeks after the scheduled mid-April finale of Rush’s Fifty Something Tour, which is taking the reunited band across North and South America, Europe and the U.K.
WATCH | Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson tease Las Vegas shows:
German drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold, who have been performing with the Lee and Lifeson, will also join them for the Sphere shows.
Lee revealed that when he first heard about the dome-shaped venue and its wraparound high-tech LED displays, he imagined it a perfect match for “the kind of visual attitude” of Rush’s concerts, even though they weren’t touring anymore.
“Life is nothing if not surprising and now, here we are, living and touring in the present tense and we are able to make that particular dream come true,” he said in a statement.
Filmmakers and Rush members reflect on Neil Peart’s legacy, musical genius and the private, caring person behind the legendary drummer at the premiere of Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple.
Rush’s Sphere setlist will include both greatest hits and fan favourites, he said, to celebrate their musical legacy as well as the life of virtuoso drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, who died in 2020.
The band is working to “concoct some new madness to suit this incredible venue,” Lee noted, anticipating the chance “to please our fans both visually and viscerally from wherever they might fly in from.”
The shows could be just the thing to lure Canadians back to Las Vegas, which has seen visits from Canada — the state of Nevada’s largest source of international tourists — plummet.
With Canadian travel to the U.S. way down over trade tensions and President Donald Trump’s ’51st state’ rhetoric, Las Vegas tourism officials are travelling north in hopes of winning Canadians back. Some venues are even offering dollar parity as an incentive.
Since opening in fall 2023, Sphere has hosted top recording artists and major shows, from opening act U2 to the Backstreet Boys, Phish to No Doubt, with Metallica, The Eagles and John Mayer among the latest set for that spherical stage.
VIP and travel packages for Rush’s Elevate from the Norm shows go on sale Friday, while the artist presale begins Nov. 11. General public tickets go on sale starting two days after that.
