2017 Reunion Tour

Lore & Background

The reunion was never guaranteed. After the 2011 breakup, the four members scattered into solo projects, activism, and quiet life. When the 2015–2016 reunion was announced, the internet reaction was almost religious in its intensity—fans who had carried the band's message through a decade of political upheaval suddenly had it back in the room. The 2017 dates extended that energy into a full touring cycle, with the band playing to sold-out crowds that included both the original *Evil Empire* generation and younger listeners discovering the catalog for the first time.

Musically, the 2017 shows leaned heavily on the band's most anthemic material. Tracks like "Killing in the Name," "Bulls on Parade," and "Testify" became communal rituals, with tens of thousands of voices joining the shouted refrains. Tom Morello's guitar work—his whammy-bar tricks, his use of a bow on strings, his feedback-drenched solos—remained the visual and sonic centerpiece, while Brad Wilk's drumming provided a relentless, almost militaristic pulse. Tim Commerford's bass lines locked the rhythm section into a groove that made the entire arena feel like it was vibrating at a single frequency.

The political dimension was inseparable from the music. De la Rocha's interludes between songs addressed police brutality, immigration, corporate power, and the state of American democracy in 2017 specifically. The band's long-standing alliances with activist causes—support for the DREAM Act, solidarity with labor movements, criticism of military intervention—were not mere set dressing but the structural backbone of the show. Audiences left not just entertained but mobilized, a testament to the band's original thesis that a rock concert could be an act of political organizing.

In Their Own Story

The stage lights cut to black and the arena went silent. Then a single guitar note—bent, sustained, screaming through a wall of amplifiers—split the dark like a blade. The crowd roared before the band even walked out. Tom Morello stood at the edge of the stage, his white shirt soaked, his guitar angled like a weapon. He looked out at the sea of faces—some twenty years old, some forty—and something in his expression said: *you're still here, and so am I, and we're not done yet.* The drums kicked in. The bass groaned low. And then the voice, raw and unyielding, cut through the feedback like a verdict being read in a courtroom. Forty thousand people inhaled as one. The night belonged to them, and for the next two hours, the world outside the venue walls did not exist.

Reader's Guide

The 2017 touring cycle picked up where the 2016 reunion shows left off, with the band headlining major festival slots and playing a series of arena and amphitheater dates across the United States, Canada, and Europe. North American stops included large outdoor venues and major music festivals, while the European leg carried the show to multiple countries, each night drawing sold-out crowds eager to hear the catalog live.

Setlists consistently anchored on the band's most recognizable material. "Killing in the Name" typically opened or closed the set, its shouted chorus becoming a call-and-response ritual. "Bulls on Parade," "Testify," "Wake Up," and "Bombtrack" were near-universal inclusions, while deeper cuts from *The Battle of Los Angeles* and *Renegades* appeared in rotation. Tom Morello's extended guitar passages—feedback solos, bowed-string interludes, and his signature whammy-bar technique—punctuated nearly every song.

The political throughline was the show's spine. De la Rocha's spoken-word segments between songs addressed the year's political climate with pointed, often searing commentary. The band's long-standing solidarity with immigrant rights, labor organizing, and anti-military activism was woven into the narrative of each performance. Audiences consistently described the shows as emotionally overwhelming, with the final songs often reduced to a wall of collective shouting that blurred the line between concert and protest.

Collaborations and guest appearances were sparse, keeping the focus on the core four-piece. The energy was deliberately raw: no pyrotechnic spectacle, no video screens—just four musicians, a wall of amps, and a message that had not aged a day.

Did You Know?

• The 2017 touring season was part of the band's second reunion, following their initial 2007–2011 run and the 2011 breakup. The first reunion had been brief; the second proved more sustained.
• Tom Morello's guitar setup, which includes a custom-built guitar with a whammy bar, a bow, and multiple effects loops, has remained largely unchanged since the mid-1990s, making his 2017 stage presence nearly identical t
• The band's political activism is not a side project but a core identity. Members have long supported causes including immigrant rights, labor organizing, and opposition to military intervention, and the live shows reflec
• Zack de la Rocha's vocal style—part spoken word, part shouted chant, part melodic delivery—was a deliberate rejection of conventional rock vocal technique, drawing on hip-hop, spoken poetry, and political oratory traditi