What song have Rush played live the most?
The world of prog rock was shaken into excitement this week as Rush announced that they would be reuniting for some shows in 2026.
The music of Rush is something that has equally perplexed and invigorated listeners for years now, as is the nature of prog. Prog rock is a tricky kind of music to define, as it essentially applies to any kind of sound which doesn’t specifically fit within the confines of rock. Of course, this kind of loose definition brings up more questions than it does answers, as many a prog musician has found out over the years.
For instance, when Frank Zappa was talking about prog music, he managed to wander around in circles before coming up with a definition of the genre. The man who is usually considered a master of the prog sound settled on a few sentences which he believed captured the magic of something which so often can come across totally intangible.
“I would presume that people would accept this definition,” he said, “Progressive rock is anything that doesn’t sound like regular rock. Regular rock is everything that sounds like itself. All songs which sound the same, everything on MTV, everything on the radio, that’s rock. Progressive rock is stuff that doesn’t sound like that.”
We can sit and ponder over different definitions like seasoned academics all day, but realistically, the best way to understand prog rock is to give it a good ol’ listen, and there is no better band to do that with than Rush. It doesn’t matter what kind of prog rock you’re looking for, whether it’s elongated, complicated ballads or songs which are a bit more concise and radio-friendly, you can find it throughout their rich discography. It’s this great music that has fans so thrilled, especially since the power trio seemed finished when drummer Neil Peart died, and it was difficult for Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee to imagine playing Rush songs without the third member.
“I mean, this is a relatively recent decision. And I would say it was kind of out of the question for the longest time because of those circumstances. And how do you replace someone who’s irreplaceable?” Lee and Lifeson would frequently meet up and jam, but they never played Rush songs as they figured it would be too difficult. One day, that changed, and they realised revisiting songs brought back a lot more positive memories than negative ones.
“We were laughing so hard,” recalled Lee, “and we were enjoying it so much. And it was almost like playing those songs dispelled the dark cloud”.
The fact that people are going to get to witness these great songs live once again is incredibly exciting and has left fans contemplating which songs might make up the setlist for the tour. The truth is, the band usually changes their setlists around, so different crowds will probably experience different songs, but there are some constants which will always find their way into a Rush gig one way or another.
One song which has been a part of Rush’s setlist since day one was the classic from their debut album, ‘Working Man’. Alex Lifeson once admitted they had been putting that song into setlists since the band’s inception, so it’s more than likely this will be their most played. Also, given the upcoming reunion shows honour Rush as a whole, fans can probably expect some of these older cuts to make it into the performance roster.
Naturally, there are some other fan favourites which will also have been played live a great deal, such as the euphoric ‘Tom Sawyer’ and ‘2112’. While these songs have been performed a lot, given it’s older, ‘Working Man’ will more than likely be the band’s most played number.
