Rush have been gifted with an incredible honor by their hometown. Frontman Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson will be awarded the key to the city of Toronto on Sept. 17.

Can you believe Rush has been around for almost 50 years? Lee and Lifeson first formed the band in 1968, finally completing Rush’s most revered lineup when drummer Neil Peart manned the drum throne in 1974. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were both born and raised in Toronto, and for their many decades of greatness in the music industry, Mayor John Tory will bestow the two with a key to the city. The guitar and bass duo will also have a park in Willowdale named in their honor..

“Rush’s sound, famous across the world, has helped shape Toronto’s own musical identity, which always has been and continues to be a unique hybrid of styles and influences,” Tory’s spokesman, Amanda Galbraith, said in a statement to the Toronto Sun. “Very few bands can claim to have influenced a genre of music — but Rush can legitimately say they’ve done just that.”

“Their massive international fan base has helped to spotlight Toronto as a music capital for decades,” Galbraith continued. “It’s amazing to know that all their success started right here in Toronto in a neighborhood in Willowdale.”

The members of Rush have recently hinted at retirement. Shortly after Peart suggested he’d no longer be performing live, Lifeson reported Rush had no current plans for writing or touring.

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