The R40 Live Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush that commemorated the 40th anniversary of drummer Neil Peart joining the band in July 1974. The title hearkens back to Rush's 2004 R30: 30th Anniversary Tour that celebrated the 30th anniversary of the band. The tour grossed US$37.8 million, with 442,337 tickets sold at 35 concerts. Although the tour was shorter than many of Rush’s preceding tours, it was very successful in terms of average concert attendance and gross, which was 12,638 and US$1,080,000 respectively. The tour also saw more sellouts than any other Rush tour in recent memory. With 26 out of the 33 reported shows being sellouts, and the remaining 7 still over 90% capacity, the band felt a taste of their success from their prime years again. This was Rush's final tour with Peart before his death in 2020, and their last one before dissolving for ten years.

While their set list was intended to represent their discography in reverse order, no songs from the EP Feedback (2004) or the albums Test for Echo (1996), Presto (1989), Hold Your Fire (1987), or Power Windows (1985) were performed for the duration of the tour.

Films

The shows performed on June 17 and 19, 2015, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto were filmed and released as the concert film R40 Live on November 20, 2015. A documentary titled Rush: Time Stand Still was released in November 2016, dealing with the band's preparations for the tour and their experiences during it. The film was narrated by Paul Rudd and directed by Dale Heslip.

Live album Rush recorded two of their shows in June in Toronto for a live album released on November 20, 2015. They also recorded "The Wreckers" in Buffalo, NY at the show on June 10, 2015 for the album, as well as "The Camera Eye" at the show in Kansas City, MO on July 9, 2015. The live album R40 Live reached number one on Billboard Top Rock Albums chart.

Book Neil Peart released a book about the tour titled Far and Wide: Bring That Horizon to Me! on September 13, 2015.

Set list

First set "The World Is... The World Is" (video introduction) "The Anarchist"/"Clockwork Angels" (only on May 8 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) "Clockwork Angels"/"The Wreckers"† "Headlong Flight" (with "Drumbastica", Neil Peart drum solo) "Far Cry" "The Main Monkey Business" "One Little Victory"/"How It Is" "Animate" "Roll the Bones" "Distant Early Warning"/"Between the Wheels" "Losing It"† "Subdivisions"

Second set "No Country for Old Hens" (video introduction) "Tom Sawyer" "Red Barchetta"/"The Camera Eye"/"YYZ" "The Spirit of Radio" "Natural Science" (only when "YYZ" was performed) "Jacob's Ladder" "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres"1. "Prelude" "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage"1. "Prologue"2. "Part 1"3. "The Story So Far" (Neil Peart drum solo)4. "Part 3" "Closer to the Heart" "Xanadu" "2112"I. "Overture"II. "The Temples of Syrinx"IV. "Presentation"VII. "Grand Finale"

Encore "Mel's Rock Pile" starring Eugene Levy (video introduction) "Lakeside Park" "Anthem" "What You're Doing" "Working Man" (featuring intro excerpt of "Garden Road") "Exit Stage Left" (video outro)

† "Clockwork Angels" / "The Wreckers" were not played June 19 in Toronto, June 27 in Newark, New Jersey, June 29 in New York, New York, July 17 in Vancouver, BC and August 1 in Los Angeles, California. At those five shows, they were replaced by "Losing It," which was played prior to "Subdivisions."

Tour dates + List of 2015 concertsDateCityCountryVenueAttendanceRevenueMay 8, 2015TulsaUnited StatesBOK Center9,830 / 10,355$817,400May 10, 2015LincolnPinnacle Bank Arena9,357 / 10,280$654,434May 12, 2015Saint PaulXcel Energy Center11,835 / 11,835$973,166May 14, 2015St. LouisScottrade Center13,096 / 13,096$1,092,824May 16, 2015AustinAustin360 Amphitheater12,898 / 12,898$791,645May 18, 2015DallasAmerican Airlines Center13,320 / 13,320$1,032,215May 20, 2015HoustonToyota Center11,202 / 11,202$1,046,297May 22, 2015New OrleansSmoothie King Center10,786 / 11,547$884,926May 24, 2015TampaAmalie Arena13,914 / 13,914$1,176,535May 26, 2015AlpharettaVerizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park11,500 / 11,500May 28, 2015GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum10,861 / 11,135$895,380May 30, 2015BristowJiffy Lube Live16,579 / 16,579$1,094,711June 8, 2015ColumbusNationwide Arena14,079 / 14,079$1,076,164June 10, 2015BuffaloFirst Niagara Center13,913 / 13,913$1,132,154June 12, 2015ChicagoUnited Center14,256 / 14,256$1,450,746June 14, 2015Auburn HillsThe Palace of Auburn Hills13,083 / 13,083$1,092,767June 17, 2015TorontoCanadaAir Canada Centre28,364 / 28,364$2,541,984June 19, 2015June 21, 2015MontrealCentre Bell13,024 / 13,024$939,304June 23, 2015BostonUnited StatesTD Garden12,953 / 12,953$1,232,122June 25, 2015PhiladelphiaWells Fargo Center13,476 / 13,476$1,340,006June 27, 2015NewarkPrudential Center12,483 / 12,483$1,289,222June 29, 2015New York CityMadison Square Garden13,554 / 13,554$1,507,393July 9, 2015Kansas CitySprint Center10,629 / 10,736$914,828July 11, 2015DenverPepsi Center12,681 / 12,681$1,119,150July 13, 2015West Valley CityMaverik Center9,564 / 10,156$805,899July 15, 2015CalgaryCanadaScotiabank Saddledomerowspan="2" rowspan="2" July 17, 2015VancouverRogers ArenaJuly 19, 2015SeattleUnited StatesKeyArena11,933 / 11,933$1,055,071July 21, 2015PortlandModa Center12,684 / 12,684$971,350July 23, 2015San JoseSAP Center at San Jose12,534 / 12,534$1,210,279July 25, 2015Las VegasMGM Grand Garden Arena13,434 / 13,434$1,401,719July 27, 2015PhoenixUS Airways Center12,282 / 12,551$944,212July 30, 2015IrvineIrvine Meadows Amphitheatre14,933 / 14,933$1,042,380August 1, 2015InglewoodThe Forum12,894 / 12,894$1,406,214

References

Bibliography Daly and Hansen. Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth: The Official Touring History. Insight Editions, 2019.