Last Updated on September 11, 2025 by Christian Adams
If you wanted to know who’d be touring in 1976, you looked at the record bins. It was an action-packed year for rock n’ roll new releases and epic rock set lists. Riding on the excitement of the previous year, it seemed like a hot new album was dropping every week.
Two of my all-time favorite records were released in 1976: Led Zeppelin’s Presence (personal top 10) and Rush’s 2112 (personal top 40). We got amazing records like:
- Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive!
- David Bowie – Station to Station
- Lou Reed – Coney Island Baby
- 10cc – How Dare You?
- The Residents – Third Reich n’ Roll
- Genesis – A Trick of the Tail
- Kiss – Destroyer
- Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak
And that’s only up until April. But it was also somewhat of a schizophrenic year. We got The Ramones’ eponymous debut album and The Eagles’ Hotel California.
Among the top concert draws in 1976 were Bruce Springsteen (Born to Run/Lawsuit Tour) and Elton John (Louder Than Concorde Tour), but everybody was on the road in 1976.
Let’s look at the top rock setlists of the year.
Boston at The Music Hall, Boston, MA, USA
| Date: | October 16, 1976 |
| Tour: | Boston 1976-77 |
The hometown heroes return with a top 5 record and the fastest-selling debut album of all time (at the time). Seems kind of odd they didn’t do an encore?
| Boston at The Music Hall, Boston, MA, USA October 16, 1976 |
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| Rock & Roll Band Shattered Images Peace of Mind Something About You Smokin’ Guitar Solo Foreplay/Long Time More Than a Feeling Television Politician |
Ramones at The Club, Cambridge, MA, USA
| Date: | May 20, 1976 |
| Tour: | Ramones |
Their set lists are long because most songs are under two and a half minutes.
| Ramones at The Club, Cambridge, MA, USA May 20, 1976 |
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| Blitzkrieg Bop I Remember You Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend 53rd & 3rd Havana Affair California Sun (Joe Jones cover) Judy Is a Punk I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Beat on the Brat Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue Swallow My Pride Glad to See You Go Chain Saw Listen to My Heart Babysitter Oh Oh I Love Her So Commando Let’s Dance (Chris Montez cover) |
Rush at Zembo Shrine Building, Harrisburg, PA, USA
| Date: | September 19, 1976 |
| Tour: | All the World’s a Stage |
Rush was on the ropes in late 1975. Despite near-constant touring, their third album on Mercury Records, Caress of Steel, didn’t sell, and the critics hated it. The label gave Rush one more album to deliver more commercial material, but Rush did the most “Rush thing” you might imagine. They made a quasi-concept science fiction record loosely based on a novella by Ayn Rand (Anthem, 1946).
2112 was an unlikely comeback album that reversed the band’s commercial fortunes. Somehow, it resonated with kids like me and all our stoner older siblings.
This show in Harrisburg isn’t the greatest Rush set list you’ll ever see, but if you were a fan, now you’re like, “OK, these guys are going places.”
| Rush at Zembo Shrine Building, Harrisburg, PA, USA September 19, 1976 |
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| Bastille Day Anthem Lakeside Park 2112 Part I: Overture 2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx 2112 Part III: Discovery 2112 Part IV: Presentation 2112 Part VI: Soliloquy 2112 Part VII: Grand Finale The Twilight Zone Something for Nothing Best I Can By-Tor & The Snow Dog The Necromancer Part I: Into the Darkness The Necromancer Part II: Under the Shadow The Necromancer Part III: Return of the Prince In the End Working Man Finding My Way Drum Solo Encore: Fly by Night In the Mood |
Kiss at River Trails Middle School in Mount Prospect, IL, USA
| Date: | May 4, 1976 |
| Tour: | Destroyer |
Thanks to Kiss Timeline (dot com), the premier fan database for all things Kiss-related.
The fact that Kiss played the gymnasium of a middle school in 1976, shortly after the release of Destroyer (1976), their biggest album to date, shows how deeply the band’s propaganda had permeated suburban American youth culture.
A local Chicago radio station (WCFL) hosted a “School Spirit Contest” sponsored by Mars Candy Co. The prize was a private show from Kiss. Eligible contestants were schools in the Midwest, ostensibly within broadcast range of WCFL, but it’s unclear whether the winners had to send in the most candy wrappers or index cards to win.
Approximately 350 students at River Trails Middle (Junior High) School in Mount Prospect, Illinois, were treated to a full set by Kiss—pyrotechnics included—in their Alive! costumes, which was their final performance in the U.S. with those costumes. A post-show pizza party with the band followed the performance.
I grew up roughly 20 miles from Mount Prospect, and I listened to WCFL all the time. But I was still in elementary school. Our junior high school participated in the contest. That’s all I remember. A year later, I had a Kiss lunchbox and matching Thermos.
I can’t find a set list from the River Trails show, but here’s what they played on that leg of the North American tour.
| Kiss at Scope Arena, Norfolk, VA, USA July 3, 1976 |
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| Detroit Rock City King of the Night Time World (Live Debut) Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll Bass Solo (Gene Simmons spits blood) God of Thunder Sweet Pain (Live Debut) Guitar Solo Shout It Out Loud Strutter Nothin’ to Lose Watchin’ You Drum Solo Do You Love Me (Live Debut) Flaming Youth Encore: Deuce Firehouse Black Diamond Rock and Roll All Nite |
Thin Lizzy at Ford Auditorium, Detroit, MI, USA
| Date: | May 14, 1976 |
| Tour: | Jailbreak |
One of our babysitters foolishly left a copy of Jailbreak in a stack of records at our house, and I was the first to find it.
| Thin Lizzy at Ford Auditorium, Detroit, MI, USA May 14, 1976 |
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| Jailbreak It’s Only Money Emerald The Boys Are Back in Town Still in Love With You Warriors Rosalie (Bob Seger cover) Suicide Sha La La Drum Solo Encore: Baby Drives Me Crazy Me and the Boys |
Bruce Springsteen at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| Date: | September 26, 1976 |
| Tour: | Born to Run/Lawsuit Tour |
Springsteen’s former manager, Mike Appel, sued the band to keep them out of the studio, so they stayed on the road. It’s been noted that Springsteen and the E Street band truly developed during the 1975–1978 period when they were prohibited from recording new material, and it’s here where their legendary live performances began to mature.
| Bruce Springsteen at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, AZ, USA September 26, 1976 |
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| Night Rendezvous Spirit in the Night It’s My Life (The Animals cover) Thunder Road She’s the One Born to Run Something in the Night Backstreets Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (w/ the Miami Horns) Jungleland Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (Theme From Shaft snippet) Encore: 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) Raise Your Hand (Eddie Floyd cover) (w/ the Miami Horns) Growin’ Up You Can’t Sit Down (Phil Upchurch Combo cover) (w/ the Miami Horns) |
The Eagles at Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO, USA
| Date: | August 8, 1976 |
| Tour: | One of These Nights |
Nobody knew a shitbomb from the Eagles was about to drop on Hotel California (released December 1976). This was the calm before the shitstorm, Randy. “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and all that. And it kinda makes me wonder what would have happened to the band if they hadn’t hooked up with Joe Walsh. It fuckin’ blows my mind that Eagles’ Greatest Hits 1971–1975 is the best-selling greatest hits album of all time.
| The Eagles at Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO, USA August 8, 1976 |
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| Take It Easy Outlaw Man (David Blue cover) Doolin-Dalton Turn to Stone (Joe Walsh song) Seven Bridges Road (Steve Young cover) Lyin’ Eyes Take It to the Limit Desperado Midnight Flyer Already Gone (Jack Tempchin/Robb Strandlund cover) One of These Nights Funk #49 (James Gang cover) Good Day in Hell Doolin’-Dalton / Desperado (Reprise) Witchy Woman Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh song) Encore: James Dean Best of My Love Funk #49 (James Gang cover) Tequila Sunrise |
Peter Frampton at Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA, USA
| Date: | December 14, 1976 |
| Tour: | Frampton Comes Alive! |
Peter Frampton returns to one of the venues where Frampton Comes Alive! was “recorded.” I wouldn’t have made it through the first half of this gig. I’d hear “Do You Feel Like We Do?” from the parking lot.
| Peter Frampton at Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA, USA December 14, 1976 |
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| Baby (Somethin”s Happening) Doobie Wah Lines on My Face Show Me the Way It’s a Plain Shame Wind of Change Just the Time of Year Penny for Your Thoughts All I Wanna Be (Is by Your Side) Baby, I Love Your Way I Wanna Go to the Sun Nowhere’s Too Far (For My Baby) (I’ll Give You) Money Do You Feel Like We Do? Shine On (Humble Pie song) White Sugar Jumpin’ Jack Flash (The Rolling Stones cover) Day’s Dawning |
David Bowie at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, USA
| Date: | March 23, 1976 |
| Tour: | Isolar |
The Isolar Tour in support of the album Station to Station (1976) is commonly referred to as the Thin White Duke Tour, the Station to Station Tour, and the White Light Tour. Everything about David Bowie has been about constant reinvention or transformation. Bowie has transitioned out of his Ziggy Stardust phase, beyond Young Americans (1975).
This show was recorded for broadcast by The King Biscuit Radio Network (aka The King Biscuit Flower Hour).
| David Bowie at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, USA March 23, 1976 |
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| Station to Station Suffragette City Fame Word on a Wing Stay I’m Waiting for the Man (The Velvet Underground cover) Queen Bitch Life on Mars? (Shortened) Five Years Panic in Detroit (w/ extended drum and scat solo by Dennis Davis) Changes TVC15 Diamond Dogs Encore: Rebel Rebel The Jean Genie (extended outro) |
Lou Reed at Akron Civic Theatre, Akron, OH, USA
| Date: | November 17, 1976 |
| Tour: | Rock n’ Roll Heart |
The more Lou Reed tried to convince me that he was all about rock n’ roll, the less I believed him.
| Lou Reed at Akron Civic Theatre, Akron, OH, USA November 17, 1976 |
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| Sweet Jane (The Velvet Underground song) Coney Island Baby I Believe in Love Lisa Says (The Velvet Underground song) Kicks She’s My Best Friend (The Velvet Underground song) I’m Waiting for the Man (The Velvet Underground song) A Sheltered Life The Kids Claim to Fame Vicious Walk on the Wild Side Rock n’ Roll Heart Charley’s Girl Kill Your Sons Satellite of Love How Do You Think It Feels You Wear It So Well Oh, Jim Berlin Ladies Pay Heroin (The Velvet Underground song) Leave Me Alone |
10cc at Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland
| Date: | April 26, 1976 |
| Tour: | European Tour |
Do you hear what they’re trying to do? It’s an extremely sophisticated form of art rock and progressive pop with hints of Frank Zappa & the Mothers (“I’m Mandy Fly Me”).
| 10cc at Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland April 26, 1976 |
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| Ships Don’t Disappear in the Night (Do They?) Rubber Bullets The Wall Street Shuffle Silly Love The Worst Band in the World Old Wild Men The Sacro-Iliac I’m Not in Love Une Nuit a Paris Rock ‘n’ Roll Lullaby Lazy Ways The Second Sitting for the Last Supper Head Room Don’t Hang Up I’m Mandy Fly Me Art for Art’s Sake Iceberg |
The Residents at Longbranch Saloon, Berkeley, CA, USA
| Date: | June 7, 1976 |
| Tour: | n/a |
If you know the Residents, then you know experimental rock.
| The Residents at Longbranch Saloon, Berkeley, CA, USA June 7, 1976 |
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| Numb Erone (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones cover) Spotted Pinto Bean (Excerpt) You YesYesYes It’s My Party (Lesley Gore cover) Six Things to a Cycle (Excerpt) Wipe Out (The Surfaris cover) Six Things to a Cycle (Excerpt) Aircraft Damage Kamikazi Lady Aircraft Damage (Reprise) |
Genesis at London Arena, London, ON, Canada
| Date: | March 26, 1976 |
| Tour: | A Trick of the Tail |
Peter Gabriel left Genesis at the end of the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour (May 1975). The band reconvened to record A Trick of the Tail (1976).
This is the first show with Phil Collins performing vocals and Bill Bruford on drums. Bruford left at the end of the tour to work on his first solo album, Feels Good to Me (1977), featuring Allan Holdsworth.
If you were a fan of the band, what more could you want from a Genesis set list? Except maybe Peter Gabriel?
| Genesis at London Arena, London, ON, Canada March 26, 1976 |
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| Dance on a Volcano (live debut) “Lamb Stew” /The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Fly on a Windshield Broadway Melody of 1974 Carpet Crawlers The Cinema Show Robbery, Assault and Battery (live debut) White Mountain Firth of Fifth Entangled (live debut) Squonk (live debut) Supper’s Ready Encore: I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) Los Endos (live debut) Encore 2: it Watcher of the Skies |
Elton John at Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL
| Date: | July 27, 1976 |
| Tour: | Louder Than Concorde But Not Quite As Pretty Tour |
Like many kids of the 1970s and 1980s, I killed a lot of time by reading. On Sunday mornings, I’d read the Chicago Tribune from the front page to the classifieds. I scoured the entertainment section to see who’d be coming to town. Elton John and Kiki Dee released “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” the day before this gig I remember approaching my dad about maybe seeing the show, and he said, “Don’t even ask.”
| Elton John at Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL July 27, 1976 |
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| Grow Some Funk of Your Own Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Island Girl Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time) Hercules Bennie and the Jets Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding Philadelphia Freedom Love Song (Lesley Duncan cover) Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (The Beatles cover) Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me Empty Sky Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Someone Saved My Life Tonight Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (Elton John & Kiki Dee song) I’ve Got the Music in Me (The Kiki Dee Band cover) We All Fall in Love Sometimes Curtains Tell Me When the Whistle Blows Encore: Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting Your Song Pinball Wizard (The Who cover) |
Queen at Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia
| Date: | April 17, 1976 |
| Tour: | A Night At the Opera |
I was scrolling through the set lists on setlist.fm with my fingers crossed, thinking, “Please let Queen play the Sydney Opera House…” This Queen setlist is as close as we get.
| Queen at Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia April 17, 1976 |
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| Procession Bohemian Rhapsody (Rock Section) Ogre Battle Sweet Lady White Queen (As It Began) Flick of the Wrist Bohemian Rhapsody Killer Queen The March of the Black Queen Bohemian Rhapsody (Reprise) Bring Back That Leroy Brown Brighton Rock Son and Daughter The Prophet’s Song Stone Cold Crazy Doing All Right Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon Keep Yourself Alive Liar In the Lap of the Gods… Revisited Encore: Now I’m Here Big Spender (Cy Coleman cover) Jailhouse Rock (Elvis Presley cover) God Save the Queen ([traditional] cover) |
Black Sabbath at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England
| Date: | January 13, 1976 |
| Tour: | Sabotage |
We could talk about Sabbath all day, but I’m taking Sabotage (1976) as my favorite.
| Black Sabbath at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England January 13, 1976 |
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| Supertzar Killing Yourself to Live Hole in the Sky Snowblind Symptom of the Universe War Pigs Megalomania Sabbra Cadabra Guitar Solo Sometimes I’m Happy Drum Solo Supernaut Iron Man (guitar solo continues) Black Sabbath Spiral Architect Embryo Children of the Grave |
