Rush has a new touring symbol. What does it mean?

Rush‘s 50 Something Tour is one of the biggest things to hit live music in years. After 11 years, Alex and Geddy are killing it, helped along by the amazing talents of drummer Anika Nilles.

Rush is one of those bands that offers many hidden clues as to intentions and meanings. For example, the number three has figured into many different ways in their visuals. This tour is no different.

Hugh Syme has been the band’s art director since the 70s, starting with the Caress of Steel album in 1975. (He’s also the guy fiddling with the ancient synthesizers that lead into “2112.”) Syme rejoined the band to create a new symbol for 50 Something. Here it is on a t-shirt.

Cool, no? A little Klingon-y, perhaps? A biological hazard symbol? What does it mean?

Syme heard through Geddy’s brother that he’s always been a fan of the four symbols used by Led Zeppelin.

Could Syme create something that indicated “three?” So he started looking into Celtic lore, which often conjures imagery of three elements. He found one symbol, and then rendered in both bronze and a watercolour. A metal one was created for the front of Anika’s bass drum.

Yes, it does look something like the biological hazard symbol…

….but the band didn’t care (although it does look a little weird on a coffee mug.)

Now we know.