{"id":38748,"date":"2026-08-20T16:09:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T20:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=38748"},"modified":"2026-08-20T16:09:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T20:09:44","slug":"epic-rush-rocks-town-park-with-majestic-musicianship-and-spot-on-renditions-of-seventeen-progressive-rock-gems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/epic-rush-rocks-town-park-with-majestic-musicianship-and-spot-on-renditions-of-seventeen-progressive-rock-gems\/","title":{"rendered":"Epic Rush rocks Town Park with majestic musicianship and spot-on renditions of seventeen progressive-rock gems\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Despite an ominous forecast, Wednesday\u2019s Epic Rush Concert in the Park dodged a climate change bullet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No wildfire smoke. No microburst. No freakish thunderstorm or deluge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The intrepid audience members who uttered \u201cDamn the Torpedoes\u201d and set up their lawn chair with a Slabtown Armoury libation in hand were treated to a stirring evening of 17 Canadian progressive rock classics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remarkably, the thunder, lightning, or sideways rain never arrived, but a hurricane of hits rolled out by a Rush tribute band made the trip to Town Park a midweek treat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set One opened with \u201cSubdivisions,\u201d then Epic Rush rolled through a whirlwind of Lee, Lifeson, and Peart\u2019s complex compositions \u2013 the range of which appealed to both casual Rush fans and hard-core aficionados of the prog-rock triumvirate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDistant Early Warning,\u201d \u201cFreewill,\u201d \u201cTime Stands Still,\u201d \u201cDigital Man,\u201d \u201cHemixan,\u201d and \u201cYYZ\u201d featured Alex Kuthy scaling the heights of Geddy Lee\u2019s vocals and replicating his bass guitar magic; Don Dewulf\u2019s perfect representation of Alex Lifeson\u2019s smoldering lead guitar work; and Eric Kuthy\u2019s rapid-fire drums and percussion as homage to Neil \u201cThe Professor\u201d Peart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All three caught the eyes and ears of the assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set One ended with Kuthy\u2019s rousing rendition of \u201cThe Spirit of Radio\u201d and the layered song inspired an obligatory trip by many to the Slabtown tent for second half reinforcements on a beautiful summer evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set Two featured a costume change for the guitarists as Kuthy donned a red tie and Dewulf donned a red blazer, perhaps in homage to the mid-point song of the second half: a hard-driving delivery of \u201cRed Barchetta.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second set exploded into the Town Park air with two of Rush\u2019s commercial hits which receive regular rotation on FM classic rock stations: \u201cTom Sawyer\u201d and \u201cLimelight.\u201d Peart\u2019s lyrics\u2014a nod to The Bard\u2014were delivered with sterling clarity by Kuthy: \u201cAll the world\u2019s indeed a stage \/ And we are merely players \/ Performers and portrayers \/ Each another\u2019s audience \/ Outside the gilded cage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Epic Rush excelled as \u201cperformers and portrayers\u201d in the second set. They plunged headlong into an acoustic delight entitled \u201cBroon\u2019s Bane\u201d delivered by the debonair Dewulf who had his electric guitar strung over his shoulder in readiness for a smooth transition into the classic ballad \u201cThe Trees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parable, penned by Peart in 1978 for the Hemispheres album, has even more relevance today as a cautionary tale, given the impact of far-right forces on our politically-polarized continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the band\u2019s full-throttle rendering of \u201cthat song about a red car,\u201d Epic Rush took us back to the soaring lyrics and falsetto notes featured in \u201cCloser to the Heart\u201d with its unique use of Peart\u2019s bells and Lee imploring the audience to \u201cmold a new reality closer to the heart\u201d \u2013 more timely words for folks that has fallen into heartless echo chambers to seek day-to-day meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hard core Rush fans fell into the tribute band\u2019s climactic combo of \u201cOverture\u20142112\u201d and \u201cGrand Finale\u201d and clamoured for one more song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kuthy brothers and Dewulf obliged with the pulsating \u201cWorking Man\u201d as an encore. Their tight, concert-ending rendition reinforced the sad reality that such a range of vocals could only be delivered by a Rush Tribute Band in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coincidently, Rush was performing on Wednesday night\u2014their third of four concerts at Scotiabank Arena as part of the revamped band\u2019s comeback tour featuring two 73-year-olds and a new on-stage supporting cast that has enabled them to be back on the road after an 11-year hiatus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s why the savvy audience at Aurora\u2019s Town Park got a better deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hundreds who surrounded the bandshell on a perfect summer night enjoyed a free outdoor concert rather than dropping between $400 to $960 for lower bowl seats to take in Lifeson and Lee at The Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Epic Rush\u2019s lead vocalist, bass player, and keyboard player Alex Kuthy covered ALL of the canonical songs in Lee\u2019s former vocal range\u2014alas, Geddy\u2019s husky 73-year-old pipes won\u2019t allow the performance of many of Rush\u2019s signature songs in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found these omissions disappointing and Lee\u2019s cracking voice was tough to listen to back in 2015 at the ACC when the fabulous trio of Lee, Lifeson, and Peart took their final bows on Bay Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t imagine what the legendary Lee offers in vocals eleven years later, but Wednesday night\u2019s vocal performance in Aurora by Kuthy was advantage Epic Rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric Kuthy, Epic Rush\u2019s drummer and Alex\u2019s brother, could be heard amid an array of percussion instruments nearing Peart\u2019s complex, 40-piece kit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He donned Peart\u2019s head gear and, most importantly, provided the other-worldly rhythms and rapid-fire percussion to impel his Tribute Band along all night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peart passed away tragically in 2020 and although Rush has brought in a very talented drummer from Germany to perform Peart\u2019s technically-challenging beats, Rush purists at Town Park listened in abject amazement at Kuthy\u2019s brilliant percussive acumen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Epic Rush\u2019s lead guitarist Don Dewulf showed off his outstanding skills from the opening chords of \u201cSubdivisions\u201d\u2014complementing the introductory keyboard tones in Rush\u2019s most popular and commercial song.  It was a great choice to open a concert and show off Dewulf\u2019s considerable skills.  Dewulf performed with the same steady and understated performance style of Alex Lifeson who has always allowed his guitar to do most of his talking on-stage.  Lead guitarist Dewulf and bass player Kuthy were in perfect unison all evening\u2014displaying the kind of chemistry that the two Rush legends, Lifeson and Lee, have demonstrated on stage for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to enjoying these three masterful musicians render the complex Rush catalogue with seeming ease, Concert in the Park denizens enjoyed Slabtown Armoury ciders and beers for $8 rather than paying $25 for a libation at Scotiabank.  The same Town Park fans also enjoyed the gustatory pleasures of a \u201cGrabby Meal\u201d\u20142 x 4-ounce beef patties, cheese, onions, pickles, and Smash Sauce complemented by a bag of kettle chips and a cold drink for $16.99– from the Smash & Grab Burger Co. Food Truck.  The same combo meal is over $35 at The Bank on Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lead guitarist Don Dewulf, in our on-stage post-concert interview, noted the most satisfying aspect of performing all the amazing guitar solos that Lifeson has created: \u201cIt\u2019s fun to play and it\u2019s challenging, too. I could play \u2018Tom Sawyer\u2019 a thousand times and never grow tired of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what it was like to watch a Rush concert on Tuesday night in Toronto and play their music on Wednesday night in Aurora, Dewulf differentiated the concerts: \u201cThey\u2019re separate events. We loved their songs so when they retired after the Final Tour in 2015, we thought we should try this. We wanted to fill a gap in the market. Tonight, we have communion with the 18,000 fans that were at Scotiabank this week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dewulf was pleased with his band\u2019s performance on Wednesday night and when asked which song was his favourite to perform in the Town Park Bandshell, he answer was swift and deferential: \u201cYYZ\u2014it\u2019s got such a hard base line and Alex was great tonight performing it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He praised the great music that Lee, Lifeson, and Peart have provided for generations and acknowledged that \u201cWe\u2019re not Rush\u2014we don\u2019t pretend to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the die-hard Rush fans in attendance at Town Park would disagree with Dewulf\u2019s self-effacing remark. For two hours on Wednesday night, Epic Rush\u2019s masterful performance might as well have been Rush and captured an era when the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers were at their physical peak as performers.  Wednesday night was not about nostalgia or genuflecting to Canadian progressive legends as folks did during their pilgrimage to Scotiabank Arena this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the hundreds who air-drummed, played air guitar, and bobbed in their chairs with the best of them \u2013 and judiciously avoided the dance floor \u2013 enjoyed a rich playlist performed note for note by a full range vocalist, a sublimely-talented lead guitarist, and a fully-committed drummer who conjured up collectively many fond memories of three of the greatest musicians in Canadian history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jim Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Despite an ominous forecast, Wednesday\u2019s Epic Rush Concert in the Park dodged a climate change bullet. No wildfire smoke. No microburst. No freakish thunderstorm or deluge. The intrepid audience members who uttered \u201cDamn the Torpedoes\u201d and set up their lawn chair with a Slabtown Armoury libation in hand were treated to a stirring evening of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":38749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-a4Y","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-28 06:45:11","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-20-04.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38748"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38750,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38748\/revisions\/38750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}