The first extended break in Rush's Fifty Something tour will come to a close tomorrow night when Rush once again takes the stage at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. The show had originally been scheduled for June 30th, but the band was forced to cancel that show along with the following one due to Geddy Lee being diagnosed with laryngitis and bronchitis. Thankfully the band already had a 2-week break built into their tour itinerary before their planned 4-show stint in Chicago later this month. So the band decided to cut their losses, take the break early, and tack on the 2 cancelled Fort Worth shows just prior to the Chicago run, giving Geddy Lee plenty of time to recover. The plan seems to have worked, and Geddy Lee checked in with fans via Instagram Wednesday, assuring everyone that all is well:

Thanks so much to everyone for all of your well wishes! I'm feeling so much better and hard at work with Dottie in the studio hitting all the high notes and getting ready to return to Texas this Saturday July 11th and Monday July 13th! #MmmmTexasBBQtoo

Whew! There's no doubt that the band was very aware of all the rumor and speculation that has been floating around the interwebs these last 2 weeks, so this seems like a very deliberate move on their part to quell all those rumors and give some assurance to fans that Ged is OK and the tour is moving forward. The next test will be to hear how Ged's voice has held up after the illness, and - beyond that - will it hold up for the remainder of the tour? All those questions will be answered in time, but for now this is all good news and we'll be seeing Rush up on stage again this Saturday evening. We'll have more on the show itself in tomorrow's open thread.

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A post shared by Geddy Lee (@geddyimages)

Back in May we learned that Rush and Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs were planning an extensive Rush reissue series, where they will be releasing audiophile versions of Rush's Mercury-era catalog over the next few years. MoFi released more details regarding the reissue series earlier this week, and the first batch of titles will include Rush's debut album (Hybrid SACD, 2 LP), Fly by Night (Hybrid SACD, 2 LP) and A Farewell to Kings (Hybrid SACD, 2 LP), all of which are now available for pre-order (specific release date TBD). Rush plans to release a total of 11 albums over the next 2 years or so beginning this summer; the first time that the band's complete Mercury catalog has been issued as dedicated standalone audiophile editions. Ultimate Classic Rock recently spoke with MoFi's Jim Davis about the reissues, and he had the following to say:

... "Having the opportunity to work with the Rush team on these iconic titles is an exceptional honor for everyone at MoFi and Fidelity Record Pressing," Mobile Fidelity owner Jim Davis tells UCR via email. "We know how sacred these records are to Rush fans, and we are treating them with that exact level of respect. We are fully committed to delivering the definitive, high-fidelity listening experiences these legendary albums deserve." ...

All titles will be available as hybrid SACDs and on vinyl, with many of the latter available in their UltraDisc One-Step format or as double LP sets. Following the first 3 titles, the remaining albums, beginning with 1975's Caress of Steel and concluding with 1985's Power Windows will arrive in 2027 and 2028.

Reader M. Leeuwen let us know that Samurai Of Prog bassist Marco Bernard's solo album Moby Dick released last year and includes a cover of Rush's Anthem. That cover had previously been released online back in 2023 and can be heard here.

The latest episode of the Something for Nothing podcast features a conversation with Kevin Comeau of the Canadian progressive prog-rock duo Crown Lands. Comeau describe he and bandmate Cody Bowles' love of Rush and the profound impact and influence they've had on their music. You can listen to the episode below or wherever you get your podcasts:

Mega pop star Sabrina Carpenter featured Rush's The Trees in an Instagram photo dump earlier this week, where one of the highlighted photos was from one of Rush's recent LA shows where Carpenter was spotted, and Geddy Lee (@geddyimages) liked the post. In past interviews, Carpenter has talked about how her father is a Rush fan and introduced her to the band. Last year she was a guest on Nardwuar's YouTube show, and he took Sabrina shopping for vinyl at Record Safari in Los Angeles. Towards the end of the episode Sabrina is showing off some of her finds, one of which was a copy of Rush's Exit ... Stage Left and she says, "This is Rush for my dad - I'm also a fan, I love 'The Trees'". You can check that out below or on YouTube, and also check out her Instagram post here.

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A post shared by Sabrina Carpenter (@sabrinacarpenter)

To get us all back in the mood for some live Rush, here's a great multi-cam edit of their performance of A Farewell to Kings back on June 13th (almost a month ago!) - the first time the song had been played live since the '70s:

That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!!