Progressive Rock
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have put up the $785,000 that was missing for their drummer’s statue. They handed the cheque to the Neil Peart memorial task force in St. Catharines, Ontario, on 13 August, after their concert at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, and the money comes from VIP packages on the “Fifty Something” tour and from a dollar per ticket on the book tour for Lee’s memoir “My Effin’ Life” in the autumn of 2023. The rest of the million was raised by fans.
The monument is two larger-than-life bronze sculptures of the drummer, joined by a pathway carrying panels explaining his life and his work. It will go up in Lakeside Park, next to the pavilion that already bears his name, and the design is by Morgan MacDonald of the Newfoundland Bronze Foundry. It’s expected to open in late 2027. It is the Port Dalhousie park where Peart grew up and worked as a teenager, and the one that gives its name to “Lakeside Park”, the song on “Caress of Steel” (1975) that he wrote the words for.
“This public art memorial will be far more than a tribute to Neil Peart; it elevates the park into a world-class cultural landmark,” says Eric Lamothe, the city’s manager of community programs and parks. Meg Symsyk, who chairs the task force behind the commission, adds: “We already see RUSH fans from around the world making the journey to Lakeside Park. This memorial will deepen that connection even further.”
Peart died in January 2020, aged 67, of glioblastoma. The fundraising campaign closes on 15 October.
Text by Guillem Cardós