Anika Nilles discusses the immense challenge of playing with Rush
"I think I have no ego, so I play what is required."
Rush’s touring drummer Anika Nilles has spoken in detail about the immense challenge of performing with the band in place of the late-great Neil Peart.
After playing ‘Finding My Way’ with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson at the Juno Awards in March, 43-year-old German drummer Anika Nilles made her full concert debut with Rush over the summer, and her truly electrifying performances on the Fifty Something Tour have been wowing fans.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone Canada, Anika spoke in detail about her Rush journey and how having “no ego” has helped her slot in.
Asked what it’s like “on a spiritual level as a musician” inhabiting the world of Neil Peart, Anika replied: “I love to be challenged. So for me, it was just like I wanted to make it right. I was up to let go of what I have studied for so many years to improve my own style and my own character on the drums to make them feel good and feel at home in their own music.
“And when that means I have to let go of certain things which I trained on for many years to be perfect in that, but it doesn’t fit to the music, then that’s the task. So I do that. And by that I learned so many things for my own playing at the same time, which I can in the end, after this, I can put everything together. I think that makes me an even better musician in the end.”
Explaining she’s learnt “a lot” from Neil Peart, Anika continued: “What I learned for myself the most is the compositional part. He was brilliant in that, really. He constantly built and built the drum part to a point where you think, ‘What the hell is going on?” And he did that in detail along with the vocals. I think a big part of it is because he wrote the lyrics, so he was focused on lyrical parts and put that together with his drumming, and also melodically.
“So that was all lining up with the lyrics and the vocals. And that makes the whole composition so unique, and this is why you cannot just do your thing on it. You have to appreciate that and understand it as a musical composition in total.”
When the interviewer noted that Anika does inject some of her own style into the performances, Anika concurred: “Yes, of course. And this is the thing because I think I have no ego, so I play what is required. But at the same time, I’m a musician myself, with (my) own character and own style, and it sneaks in even if I don’t want to.
“On some points, I can really let go and just know that there is freedom to do it. And on some other parts I’m trying to replicate, but still my style sneaks in somehow. And then there are parts where Neil’s style and my style line up perfectly, where I feel it the same way like he did.”
Rush’s Fifty Something Tour hits the UK in March 2027 for arena shows in Glasgow, Manchester and London.
With many dates already sold out, any remaining tickets are available from Planet Rock Tickets now.
Rush’s UK tour dates:
MARCH 2027
Glasgow OVO Hydro – Mon 8th
Glasgow OVO Hydro – Wed 10th
Manchester Co-Op Live – Fri 12th
Manchester Co-Op Live – Sun 14th
London The O2 – Tue 16th
London The O2 – Thu 18th
London The O2 – Sun 21st