When the initial wave of shock wore off this morning that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are touring as Rush next year, most fans turned their attention to who will be taking on the absurdly difficult task of replacing the late Neil Peart behind the kit. The answer: German virtuoso Anika Nilles. “We could not be more excited to introduce her to our loyal and dedicated Rush fanbase,” Lee said in a statement, “whom, we know, will give her every chance to live up to that near impossible role.”
In a video accompanying the tour announcement, Lee explained how he came into contact with Nilles. “How do we replace someone who is irreplaceable?” he asked. “I had heard from Scully, my bass tech, who had been on tour with Jeff Beck. He had been working with this drummer named Anika Nilles. He mentioned how impressive she was, how talented and musical she was, and powerful. And I think [Alex] and I playing with her started to put a charge on us. We heard our songs coming back to life. It was only once we had those successful rehearsal sessions with her that I felt, ‘Yes, we can do this. And we can do justice to this. And this is going to be fun.’”
Nilles is a familiar name to true drum aficionados, and she has 225,000 followers on her YouTube channel, where she showcases her seriously impressive chops and jams with figures like guitarist Joshua De La Victoria and drummer Kaz Rodriquez. But she’s largely unknown to most rock fans, even if they saw her play with Jeff Beck in 2022.
Nilles has been drumming since early childhood, and she took to the instrument with great ease. “Drums are such a physical instrument,” she told 15 Questions. “It’s all about coordinating your limbs and having a clear idea of the rhythms and sounds you want to create. For me, drumming often feels like yoga — it’s just me and the drums, and everything else fades away for a while. That’s really liberating.”
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At age 16, she told her parents that she wanted to play drums for a living. They said, ‘No, no, no!,” she recalled to The Beat in 2023. “‘You need to do something serious first.’ So I studied social work for five years and became a preschool teacher. It was fun, it gave me the chance to be creative, and I got a really good job offer after my final exam. But I had to think carefully about my situation.”
She didn’t quit to pursue music full-time until she was in her late twenties. “I always knew that I wasn’t that happy at that job,” she told Modern Drummer in 2017. “But when you get money and you are safe, it’s not that easy to quit.”
After leaving her preschool job, Nilles enrolled in the popular music program at Popakademie Baden-Württemberg in Mannheim, Germany. “When I practiced at the university, I would close the doors and cover the windows so no one could see who was playing,” she told Drumeo. “I hated the idea that people could hear me failing. But at some point, I realized that I was making real progress, both mentally and in my drumming.”
Nilles posted the original composition “Wild Boy” online in 2013, and videos of her playing began spreading across the Internet, leading to world tours and teaching gigs. Her debut LP, Pikalar, landed in 2017. And in 2022, she played with guitar god Jeff Beck on his final tour.
Rush haven’t brought a new member into the fold since Peart was hired back in 1974. And even when they added keyboards into their sound, they refused to bring anyone new onto the stage. Lee instead found ways to sing, play bass, and handle the keyboard parts all at once. Those days are ending, though.
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“There’s one other decision that is coming,” Lee says in the announcement video. “I love the idea of being able to wander over to [Lifeson] and wander over to the drummer and just be a bass player. I think we will find ourselves adding to the band, maybe a keyboard player. What do you think about that idea?”
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“I think it’s great,” Lifeson says. “I think having a little time together at the front of the stage will be a lot of fun.”
In back of the stage, meanwhile, Nilles will be honoring the work of Neil Peart and helping one of the greatest prog bands in history have a very unexpected victory lap. Her life will never be the same.
