Why Rush Matters

Hey there, Rush freaks! Jeff & Ray must confess that their heads are spinning, what with all this Rush-related activity happening! Ray has been out on the road acting as docent for the Rush Xanadu Lounge VIP Experience, and Jeff is still reeling from the Cleveland shows. The arrival of the highly anticipated (and simply stunning) Scot McFadyen & Sam Dunn documentary Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple d...

If you told Jeff and Ray a year ago that the biggest tour of summer 2026 would feature a reborn Rush, they might’ve wondered what parallel reality you’d taken up residence in. Sure, wishful thinking has its place, and who are we if we live without belief in a dream? But back then, the cold reality smacked of finality. The beautiful dream was over. And yet, here we are, nearing the end of a summer...

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again - What a time to be a Rush fan! While Geddy, Alex, Anika and Loren - as well as thousands of grateful fans - recover from an epic 4-night run in Toronto, Jeff and Ray present their recent conversation with legendary CFNY DJs Ivar Hamilton, Scot Turner and Liz Janik, who were in town to promote their new documentary on the history of that fabled station,...

With Ray deep into his stint with the Fifty Something Tour, and Jeff preparing for his first date with the 2026 edition of Rush - on August 7, as the band kicks off a 4-night run in Toronto - we spend some time with Steve Himel, co-founder and General Manager of Toronto’s Henderson Brewing Company, and creator of the Rush line of brews.  Steve tells us about his plans for the 4th annual...

As the 2026 edition of Rush continues to roll across the country, claiming one (not so) little victory at a time, Jeff & Ray dig through decades of intense fandom, personal experiences, and close listening, to defend their Rush top 10 lists. Interesting and sometimes intense discussion ensued! Before you listen and wonder why your own favorites ranked low or didn’t make the cut, remember that, as...

As the Fifty Something tour rolls on, and Geddy, Alex, Anika and Lauren navigate a bump in the road or two, Jeff & Ray look back on the Rush concerts from years past that formed and fostered their love for the band, reflect on”spontaneous relations and the long enduring kind,” and highlight through-lines in the trio’s illustrious tenure as a premier live band. Learn more about your ad ch...

With the Rush Fifty Something tour officially underway and the accolades rolling in, Jeff and Ray discuss the first run of shows, Ray’s first-person recollections of nights 1 and 2 in Los Angeles, the incredible grace under pressure exhibited by Anika Nilles, the Xanadu Lounge (honeydew and milk of paradise for all!), and the abundant surprises in the tour’s setlists so far. Welcome to Episode 2 o...

Hey there, music lovers. Welcome to Why Rush Matters, a podcast dedicated to the music, legacy, and enduring power of the Canadian trio that changed the game and changed a lot of lives in the process. I'm your host, Jeff Miers, musician, music journalist, and since a January evening in 1980 at the Palace Theater in Albany, a devoted Rush fan who has never once looked back. Joining me, as always, i...

This is the dedicated Rush podcast for fans who know this music was never just about dazzling time signatures, thunderous bass pedals, or impossible drum fills. It was about curiosity, friendship, ambition, imagination, grief, humor, and the strange, lifelong bond between a band and the people who found themselves inside its songs. Hosted by Buffalo music journalist and critic Jeff Miers and Rush...