The devoted legion of Rush fans may be missing their band, which has been in dry-dock since 2015. But they'll get a fix with the Aug. 21 cinematic screening of Rush: Cinema Strangiato 2019.
The Trafalgar Releasing and Anthem Entertainment event is being billed as the first "Annual Exercise in Fan Indulgence" and will feature a hodge-podge of song performances, including "Tom Sawyer," "Closer to the Heart" and "Subdivisions," unreleased soundcheck and backstage footage from the 2015 R40 40th anniversary tour, and new interviews with producer Nick Raskulinecz and Rush peer fans Billy Corgan, Tom Morello and Taylor Hawkins, who inducted the Canadian trio into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with fellow Foo Fighter Dave Grohl in 2013. Singer-bassist Geddy Lee, meanwhile, sat for a new interview about Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass, which was published in December. "I'm excited for fans to see some new clips from our R40 tour but also a peek behind the scenes of making the Big Beautiful Book of Bass," Lee said.
Theater locations and ticket details can be found here starting June 20.
The film event is as close as we're likely to come to a Rush reunion. Lee told Billboard in December that prospects of he, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart regrouping in any form is "highly unlikely. Neil has retired and has no interest to play anymore. Alex and I...it's possible. We'll see. I'm sure something else will come along for me to do." Lee nevertheless voiced support for archival projects, such as album box sets the group has been putting out.
"As long as they do it with a high level of quality and the fans appreciate them and having these obscure tracks here and there, that's fine," Lee said. "They pass everything by us to make sure we sign off on it, and there are discussions that go on from time to time. As long as it's a quality thing they're releasing, I'm good with that."