Rush Kicks Off First Tour in 11 Years with Triumphant Performance in Inglewood

There’s a lot going on in the world, and yet it all just melted away for three hours (including an intermission) Sunday night, June 4th, at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, where RUSH played their first full concert in 11 years at the kickoff of their “Fifty Something Tour.”

The show equalled or exceeded any of the eight times I’ve had the pleasure to see the band. There has been a lot of online chatter amongst fans as to newcomer Anika Nilles and her ability to handle the drum chair. I’m here to say that she has it all going on in her full commitment to both honoring the late Neil Peart and also adding her own personality. The smiles, the love for each other, and their history was very much on display tonight. Loren Gold (The Who, Chicago) on keys and backing vocals also filled in the spaces and let Geddy Lee have more mobility onstage.

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The first half (preceded by a hilarious animated short) started strong with “Xanadu” and from the first notes, as the audience were all up and on their feet. “Limelight” was next, followed by Lee doing an introduction for Nilles and Gold.

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It’s a balancing act for every single career artist when formulating a setlist. RUSH have done retrospective tours, spotlights of classic albums, and also a tour like “Clockwork Angels” where a new album gets the spotlight. On this night, they hit a bit of every era and played a few things like “Caravan” and “By Tor” that I’ve not heard in ages. There were video salutes to Peart at several points, and hearing “Vital Signs” followed by “The Spirit of Radio” was a 1-2 punch to close out the first half of the night.

During intermission, I was people watching in the lobby of The Forum and saw old fans, new ones, and so many T-shirts, and it brought back memories of the old days when one had to wear the shirt at school the next morning to let everyone you’d been there at the big show.

The second set began with “2112” and the screens/visuals and stage/set design were perfect and not a distraction, but rather an enhancement. I also loved the camerawork capture of the smiles and interplay between Alex Lifeson and Lee, but also as those two interacted with Nilles, who had a smile quite often throughout the night. There was lots of genuine love in the band as they played “Distant Early Warning” and “Red Barchetta” back to back. An absolute surprise and highlight was Aimee Mann as a great surprise to all of us as she recreated her vocal on “Time Stand Still” for the first time since she appeared on the recording session almost 40 years ago.

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_Originally reported by [Consequence](https://consequence.net/2026/06/rush-reunion-tour-kickoff-show-review/)._