The iconic rock band Rush is taking its 40th anniversary celebration on the road, and Tulsa gets to kick the party off.
Tulsa is the first show of ?R40 Live,? marking 40 years since the band?s current iteration came together. The show is Friday and doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets start at $48 plus fees and are available at bokcenter.com, by phone at 866-7-BOKCTR or at the BOK Center box office at Third Street and Frisco Avenue.
The band has taken over the BOK Center this week to rehearse and prepare for the 34-city North American tour, with many Rush sightings around town this week.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band has scored many hits over its 40 years and 20 albums, its most recent being ?Clockwork Angels? in 2012.
Rush is nearly instantly recognizable with lead singer and bassist Geddy Lee?s iconic higher register vocal style. Alex Lifeson?s complex guitar work puts the band in a rock class all its own. Neil Peart?s drum work has put him at No. 1 in Drummerworld?s list of top drummers.
The band, which hails from Canada, formed in the late 1960s but made several personnel changes before rolling its current lineup out with 1974?s self-titled debut album.
Over the years and through several albums, the band experimented with different styles and sounds. Synthesizers and a more progressive rock sound gave the band?s members a chance to diversify their sound and show off their skill as musicians.
The 1981 album, ?Moving Pictures,? was the band?s eighth studio album and would become its most popular and commercially successful, with songs like ?Limelight,? ?YYZ? and ?Tom Sawyer.?
But for most fans, the commercial success was a gateway to discover its deeper musical skill.
That skill has drawn a lot of fans, and many are excited for the chance to see Rush for what could be the last time on such a large scale.
The band said that the physical demands of its large-scale show and of extensive touring are taxing, and that 40 years is a solid run. So, this may likely be their last big tour, and Tulsa gets the treat of kicking it off.