Rush say their 40th anniversary tour is likely to be the last of its kind.

The prog giants finally confirmed a 34-city US journey yesterday, after several months of discussion about whether to return to the road at all.

Guitarist Alex Lifeson had said he was looking forward to touring again while frontman Geddy Lee was less certain. And drummer Neil Peart admitted to Prog that the decision was a “true dilemma” for him because he felt he was “causing pain” to his family.

Now Rush say via a press release: “These not-to-be-missed concerts will highlight four decades of the band’s music. This will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude.”

The US trek begins on May 8 in Oklahoma and ends on August 1 in Los Angeles. It’s not currently known whether shows in other parts of the world are planned.

The Canadians are the cover stars of the current edition of Prog, on sale now, featuring in-depth interviews with all three members, while artists including Steven Wilson, Mike Portnoy and Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott discuss their favourite Rush tracks.