Preparing for a tour is an uphill climb for any artist. But the climb is that much more difficult when you are in your 70s, like Alex Lifeson.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Lifeson recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss the 50 Something Tour. Lifeson and longtime co-creator Geddy Lee reunited under the Rush moniker. German musician Anika Niles won the drums as the replacement for the late Neil Peart.
Alex Lifeson Gets Honest About The Difficulty Preparing For Tour
Many of Rush's fans are head over heels about the tour that will reunite the two rock & roll icons. But Lifeson admits that the preparation for the tour that the group announced in October 2025 has been anything but easy. The preparation became so difficult that the rock star said he would often stay up in the wee hours of the morning wondering if he bit off more than he could chew.
"14 months of rehearsal - it was difficult," he said when speaking with the outlet. "And in the last month of rehearsals, there were times I was sitting on the edge of my bed thinking, at 2 a.m., if I made the right decision."
Lifeson has battled several health-related issues over the years. Gastroparesis, Chronic Psoriatic Arthritis and a recent stomach surgery all made the tour prep more difficult for the 72-year-old. To the point that even Geddy Lee could not ignore it.
"It was really hard for him to get ready for this tour because he's battling genetics, and he's wrestling with [it] because he's crazy," Lee said.
Amid the difficulty, doubt also began to creep in for Alex. He admits that he began to question if he was even good enough to play. However, when he got on stage for the opening night of the tour in Inglewood back in June, it was obvious that he made the right choice.
"It wasn't really until Sunday when we played that gig that it all kind of came down this funnel and spilled out, and it was at that moment that I thought, 'Yeah, this has all been worth it, and this is where I really am happy to be,'" he added.
