Rush Book Five Nights at the Sphere, With 2112 and Moving Pictures Played in Full

Rush spent decades building shows that treat a stage like a movie set, so a venue that wraps around the audience was always going to call. The prog trio announced a five-night Sphere residency in Las Vegas on Thursday (Nov. 5), called Elevate From the Norm, on May 21, 23, 26, 28 and 30, Billboard reports. Each night will mix hits and fan favorites, and the band will play all of 2112 and all of Moving Pictures, Rolling Stone says. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, Nov. 13, with presales starting this Friday.

Geddy Lee said in a statement that the venue was a natural fit for the way the band designs its shows:

When I first heard of Sphere, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, what a shame that Rush is no longer touring, because this venue sounds tailor-made for the kind of visual attitude with which we have always designed our shows,’

Geddy Lee, in a statement, Rolling Stone

He continued: “But 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.” The band is working to expand its visuals to suit the building, he added, and play the kind of show it has done in some “one off” cities. Watch the band in the 1981 video for “Tom Sawyer,” the Moving Pictures opener, below.

The residency follows the band’s first tour in 11 years, and its first without Neil Peart, who died Jan. 7, 2020. Fifty Something began June 7 and was set to end April 10 in Helsinki, per Billboard. Lee and Alex Lifeson are joined by drummer Anika Nilles, whose precise take on Peart’s parts has drawn wide praise, and keyboardist Loren Gold. Each show includes tributes to Peart. Lee told Rolling Stone how the opening night in Los Angeles felt: “I was really proud of us that night because we did one of the best versions of that set that we’ve done yet.”

Read more2hollis Books a 2027 Pirouette Tour From Camp Flog Gnaw to Wembley

The Sphere is getting crowded with legacy acts. It opened with U2’s residency in 2023, and U2 have a new album due Nov. 13, and Rolling Stone lists Eagles, Phish, Dead & Company, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band, No Doubt and Backstreet Boys among those who have followed. Metallica’s Life Burns Faster run is the current one.

Remaining Fifty Something dates

North America: Nov. 5 and 7, Hollywood, Fla.; Nov. 9 and 11, Tampa; Nov. 20 and 22, Charlotte; Nov. 25 and 27, Atlanta; Dec. 1 and 3, Glendale, Ariz.; Dec. 10 and 12, Edmonton; Dec. 15 and 17, Vancouver.

South America (2027): Jan. 15, Buenos Aires; Jan. 17 and 19, Santiago; Jan. 22, Curitiba; Jan. 24 and 26, São Paulo; Jan. 30, Rio de Janeiro; Feb. 1, Belo Horizonte; Feb. 4, Brasília.

Europe (2027): Feb. 19, Paris; Feb. 21, Berlin; Feb. 23, Amsterdam; Feb. 25, Munich; Feb. 28, Cologne; Mar. 2, Hamburg; Mar. 4, Stuttgart; Mar. 8 and 10, Glasgow; Mar. 12 and 14, Manchester; Mar. 16, 18 and 21, London’s O2 Arena; Mar. 27, Kraków; Mar. 30, Milan; Apr. 1, Basel; Apr. 4, Copenhagen; Apr. 6, Oslo; Apr. 8, Stockholm; Apr. 10, Helsinki.

Las Vegas: May 21, 23, 26, 28 and 30 at the Sphere.