New RUSH Touring Drummer ANIKA NILLES On NEIL PEART: 'Adapting To His Way Of Playing Is A Challenge'

Anika Nilles, the German fusion drummer who was selected to sit behind the drum kit for RUSH's 2026 and 2027 tours, has spoken out about the task of stepping in for the band's late drummer Neil Peart.

Nilles, who toured with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck in 2022, has been rehearsing with bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson in preparation for RUSH's upcoming trek, dubbed "Fifty Something". Also appearing with them will be keyboardist Loren Gold, who is best known as touring member of THE WHO and CHICAGO.

In an interview in the new issue of Classic Rock, Nilles said: "[Neil's] playing was very energetic, and I really like that. That's something I feel very comfortable with. I also love playing in a very energetic way. That's the first thing that comes to mind, and something I really appreciate about his playing. He also had an incredible range of tonal colors. He had a very melodic approach to drumming and used a wide variety of sounds to achieve that. That set him apart and made him stand out to many drummers, for whom he was — and still is — a role model. He had a very distinctive way of playing the ride cymbal. When you listen to the music, that cymbal always stands out prominently. He had a very distinctive snare sound as well. There are certain signature sounds that come directly from his playing — not from the equipment, but from him. You recognize him immediately. Adapting to his way of playing is a challenge."

She continued: "Neil rarely repeated himself. He kept bringing something new into the song. Even if a section repeated in terms of songwriting, his drumming the second time was different from the first. That makes it exciting and is part of what gives the songs their identity. At the same time, it's a challenge to remember all those details, because they're important. It's a composition; you can't just ignore certain parts, they're all essential and have to be played. That's challenging."

RUSH performed in public with Nilles for the first time at Canada's Juno Awards in Hamilton, Ontario in late March. They played "Finding My Way", the first song from RUSH's first album, the band's only LP not to feature Peart.

The Juno Awards performance was Lee and Lifeson's first as RUSH since they finished their 40th-anniversary tour in 2015, although they have performed under their own names on occasion, including tributes to legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot and Taylor Hawkins of the FOO FIGHTERS.

In an interview with the Brazilian TV show Fantástico, Geddy and Alex were asked why they chose a jazz/fusion/prog drummer to step in for Peart on the "Fifty Something" tour as opposed to someone from a RUSH tribute band or a well-known rock drummer, such as DREAM THEATER's Mike Portnoy. Geddy replied: "Well, there's a few reasons for that. First of all, I think Alex and I wanted to stay away from the obvious comparisons. When you are working with a drummer from this famous band or that famous band, it's just too easy to make comments. You know what the Internet's like, you know what fans could be like arguments. So I think what appealed to us about Anika — first of all, we were so thrilled to see how well she plays and her technical ability. And it never really occurred to us that she came from a different genre of music. So I think we wanted somebody fresh, someone that had a story, someone whose story would be welcomed by our fans. And I think Anika fits that bill completely."

As for whether Lee and Lifeson consciously made the decision to pick someone outside the rock genre to play with them on the upcoming tour, Alex said: "We never really talked about that, because that was never really a concern or an issue. As far as I was concerned personally, I went back and forth on the idea of going back on the road. I did other projects, and I kept pretty busy. And I just didn't know if I wanted to go through the whole thing of touring and being on the road. But Geddy and I got together and we started playing some stuff, and invariably we started playing some RUSH songs, and we really had fun and we realized how much we love playing. I mean, we're very good friends — everybody knows that; we've been friends for a long time — but we were just having so much fun playing the songs, and after not having played them for a while, they were challenging to play. So that made it even more fun. And then we started talking about, what about the idea of maybe sharing this? And the more we talked about it, the more interesting that idea sounded and it kind of took on a life of its own. And now here we are with a full-fledged tour."

Lee added: "Well, the short answer, which Alex didn't really answer, the reason we never discussed what style of drummer we want was because we had no plans to come back on the road. And when suddenly the story that he just told happened, we said, 'Okay, now we need a drummer. Do you know any?'"

On the topic of how RUSH plans to pay tribute to Peart on the "Fifty Something" tour, Lee said: "Well, we've been talking about certain songs that we feel really, really give us the vision of Neil. And we'll pick those songs and each set, of the two sets, so twice a night we will pick a song to play sort of for him and we'll present a visual tribute behind us to Neil, whether it be to his lyrics or just to his playing or whatever. Take a moment, play these songs with him in mind so the whole audience and us can remember him."

The 2026 leg of the "Fifty Something" tour, which will cover Canada, USA and Mexico, initially consisted of 22 dates, which sold out immediately, prompting the addition of more shows. The tour now totals 58 shows across 24 cities, with over half a million tickets sold for 2026.

In February, RUSH announced the addition of South America and Europe tour dates to the "Fifty Something" tour, in early 2027. The dates will be the first time the band has played in Europe since 2013 and 17 years since visiting South America.

Performing 24 shows across 13 European countries, these special "evening with" shows will find the band playing two sets each night. Each show will feature a distinct selection of songs and RUSH will build each night's setlist from a catalog of more than 40 songs, including their greatest hits and fan favorites.

Peart died in January 2020 after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 67 years old.

RUSH waited three days to announce Peart's passing, setting off shockwaves and an outpouring of grief from fans and musicians all over the world.

Photo credit: Richard Sibbald