Rush kick off first tour in 11 years: Here’s everything they played
After 11 years away, Rush finally returned as a touring band on June 7th at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.
Due to phenomenal demand, the tour, which was announced last year, was extended multiple times, taking their total number of planned dates to more than 50 in 2026 and keeping them on the road from June to December.
They will then keep the good times rolling throughout 2027 as they take the Rush tour international, with visits lined up to Argentina, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
Now, following the first show in California, Rush fans have an indicator of what to expect when they see the prog-rock icons at a later date.
As they will play multiple nights in each city, setlists will be altered over the course of residencies, so just because Rush didn’t play your favourite song last night doesn’t mean it won’t feature on the tour.
In a recent interview with Rick Beato, Lee explained, “Our initial list was 45 songs. Then you start working through them and still do justice to and which ones are too much of a pain to relearn and which ones you really love.”
In the end, Rush settled on a list of 38 songs from their extensive back catalogue, which will be played across their run in each city.
At the Kia Forum, they played a total of 24 songs, which was broken down into two main sets, then an encore to close the night, which consisted of fan favourites ‘By-Tor & The Snow Dog’ and ‘Working Man’.
Meanwhile, their first set of the night included the likes of ‘Xanadu’, ‘Limelight’, ‘Subdivisions’, ‘Bravado, ‘Vital Signs’, and ‘The Spirit of Radio‘.
Then, their second set kicked of ‘2112 Part 1: Overture’, which bled into ‘2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx’, and ‘2112 Part VII: Grand Finale’. Rush also used this part of the show to play their biggest tracks such as ‘YYZ’ and ‘Tom Sawyer’.
They also used their comeback show to honour their late drummer Neil Peart, who sadly passed away in 2020. Speaking to the crowd, Lee said, “We’re here for so many reasons,” fhe noted. “We’re here to celebrate over 50 years of music that [Alex Lifeson], myself and the great Neil Peart made together. We’re here to pay tribute to Neil.”
Later in the show, per UCR, a video montage was played of Peart, which he narrated, and reflected on his career, “Drumming became an instrument of self-esteem for me.”
The narration continued, “I consider my whole career to be a reflection of me at 16 and what my values were. And what I thought the idea of artistic integrity was and what it should be devoted to.”
Notably, before Rush announced their reunion, they received the blessing from the Peart family to continue with Anika Nilles at the drum kit.
Rush will next take to the stage at the Kia Forum on June 9th, where they will also play on June 11th and June 13th.
See their full setlist, as well as clips from the concert below.
Rush – Kia Forum (Night One) setlist:
Set 1
- ‘Xanadu’
- ‘Limelight’
- ‘Far Cry’
- ‘Subdivisions’
- ‘Freewill’
- ‘Bravado’
- ‘Caravan’
- ‘La Villa Strangiato’
- ‘Vital Signs’
- ‘The Spirit of Radio’
Set 2
- ‘2112 Part I: Overture’
- ‘2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx’
- ‘2112 Part VII: Grand Finale’
- ‘Distant Early Warning’
- ‘Red Barchetta’
- ‘Dreamline’
- ‘Natural Science’
- ‘Time Stand Still’
- ‘Red Sector A’
- ‘YYZ’
- ‘The Garden’
- ‘Tom Sawyer’
Encore
- ‘By-Tor & The Snow Dog’
- ‘Working Man’
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