Rush revealed plans for a 2026 reunion tour earlier this week. As you can imagine, being the person tapped to play the parts the late Neil Peart once handled is a daunting prospect.
But as drummer Anika Nilles shared in a new social media post, it is an opportunity she feels a lot of gratitude for. She shared her first proper reaction since Monday’s (Oct. 6) tour announcement.
“I want to take a moment to sincerely thank Geddy [Lee] and Alex [Lifeson] for their trust and for welcoming me on this incredible new journey with Rush,” she wrote. “I also don’t want to miss the chance to warmly welcome all the new faces here and to thank you for your kind and open-minded words — they truly mean a lot. At the same time, I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has followed and supported my journey over the years. We’re all in this together now, and I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead.”
How Did Anika Nilles Connect With Rush?
During a 2023 conversation with The Guardian, Geddy shared his opinion that we are living “in a time rich for great drummers,” mentioning Danny Carey of Tool and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith as a couple of examples. But then he spoke about a newer player that had landed on his radar: Anika Nilles. The drummer (who also has enjoyed a prolific solo career) had been playing with Jeff Beck and “I thought she was terrific,” he added.
As Lee and Lifeson began playing Rush music together again in private, he would unexpectedly connect with Nilles, thanks to his longtime bass tech, John “Skully” McIntosh. “He was on tour with [Beck] for a few years,”the bassist and vocalist shared with fans during a private event on Oct. 5 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “And on the last tour he was playing with this drummer named Anika Nilles — an incredible drummer. And he would come home, he would rave about her, what a brilliant player she was and great person, and blah, blah, blah. So I kind of looked her up. And she’s all over YouTube. She’s fairly well known in her own world of music.”
“And then we started talking about playing again. I said to Al, I said, ‘Check her out. Maybe that’s an interesting way to go.’ And so one thing led to another, and when we made the decision we wanted to see if it would work, what’s it like to play with another drummer — we’d had that experience, of course, at the Taylor Hawkins tributes [in September 2022]. So we know how difficult it is — no matter who the drummer is, they all have their own perception of what it’s like to play a Rush song, and they may not line up with the way we play Rush songs. So whoever we were going to choose was going to be difficult and there’s going to be like a translation.”
READ MORE: Rush Adds 11 More Shows to Surprise Comeback Tour
Luckily for Rush fans, it was a good match and as a result, Niilles will be behind the kit next June when Rush hits the stage for their first concert in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale starting Friday (Oct. 10) with an initial presale. The band’s presale starts Monday (Oct. 13) and the regular sale will start next Friday (Oct. 17). You can see complete details at the band’s official website.
Ultimate Classic Rock is also giving fans a chance to win tickets, airfare and hotel accommodations to see Rush on July 18 in Chicago at the United Center. Share your favorite Rush memories and get qualified.
RUSH at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Oct. 5, 2025
They have assumed control again.
Gallery Credit: Matt Wardlaw
