Happy Independence Day to all of those in the US, and a belated Happy Canada Day to everyone in the Great White North. Canada Day took place this past Tuesday, July 1st, so many news outlets compiled Canadian-themed lists, many of which Rush tends to end up on. Rolling Stone put together their list of the 50 Greatest Canadian Artists of All Time and Rush was in good company near the top at #3 behind only Neil Young (#2) and Joni Mitchell (#1):

No band from the U.S. or U.K. was bold enough to meld metal and prog in the Seventies - to achieve that glorious fusion, we needed a trio from the great land of Canada. If there was something intrinsically Canadian about the work of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and the late Neil Peart, it was the way they let their extraordinary music overshadow their personalities, playing some of rock's most showoff-y parts without ever evincing any ego. When Lifeson soloed - think "Limelight" - Peart and Lee would often manage to slip in their own solos underneath him. Rush's proggiest days were in the Seventies, but they never stopped innovating - their synth-y Eighties work holds up as a world of its own - never lost their senses of humor, and never performed at anything less than the peak of their abilities. -B.H.

The Toronto Globe and Mail also put out their list of 101 Canadian albums you should listen to now, and Rush's Moving Pictures was included as one of the 1980s-era albums (thanks RushFanForever).

The inaugural RUSHfest Canada event will be taking place on August 1-2 in Toronto's in celebration of the 10 year anniversary of Rush's final show. The Friday night showcase event takes place at Massey Hall, the legendary venue where Rush recorded their first live album All The World's A Stage in 1975. Special guests include former Rush producer Terry Brown and album artist Hugh Syme, along with Jonathan Dinklage, Jacob Moon, Nina DiGregorio & Brody Dolynuik (from Femmes of Rock, endorsed by Alex Lifeson himself), Chris Herin (Tiles), David Barrett, Adi Berk, Moving Pictures (UK tribute band), and author Kevin J. Anderson. The Saturday event takes place at TD Music Hall and will include performances from Rush tribute bands 2112 and Permanent Waves, along with The RUSHfest Canada Allstars Band (international lineup of handpicked musicians), Jacob Moon, David Barrett, and DiGregorio & Dolynuik. You can all the details in this article.

Rush has followed up their November release of The Albums: 1989-1996 vinyl box set with a similar release covering the band's 2002-2012 period. Rush: The Albums 2002 To 2012 released back on June 6th and is now available to order. The set contains Rush's 3 studio albums from that time period, each on 2 LPs, along with one LP containing their 2004 Feedback EP, for a total of 7 LPs. You can get all the details, and purchase one of the sets at this location.

On the latest episode of the Something For Nothing podcast, hosts Steve and Gerry welcome in John Take of Rush Graphs to help them with their rankings of all 165 Rush songs:

In episode 182, we detailed our failed attempt to rank all 165 Rush album tracks, and we put out the call for listeners to submit their own lists. This week, John Take of Rush Graphs (who first joined us way back in episode 32) analyzes the data--including the lists Steve and Gerry finally got around to completing--and finds some interesting trends, all of which are presented in amazing graphs. You can listen along with the graphs, which we'll be posting on X (formerly Twitter; @RushFanCast) and Instagram (@therushcast). Oh, and which is the top Rush song as voted by our listeners? Listen to find out! ...

You can listen to the episode below or wherever you get your podcasts:

Beyond the Lighted Stage director Sam Dunn was a recent guest on the Garage to Stadiums Music History podcast where he breaks down the history of Rush, adding his own unique perspective. You can watch the episode below or on YouTube (thanks RushFanForever).

8 years ago yesterday, on July 3, 2017, Oregon State Representative Mark Meek sang Rush's The Trees on the floor of the Oregon House in acknowledgement of the tension surrounding the passing of the state's budget prior to the July 4th holiday. Watch his performance on YouTube here:

That's all for this week. Have a great holiday weekend everybody!