Rush members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have announced that the Canadian prog rock band will reunite next year for their 50th-anniversary tour, and have tapped German drum virtuoso Anika Nilles to fill in for the late Neil Peart.
Rush co-founders Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson announced yesterday that they’ll be reuniting the prog rock group for their 50th anniversary, which will also pay tribute to the memory of the late Neil Peart.
Starting in June 2026, Rush will kick off their 12-date, seven-city Fifty Something Tour, performing at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum – the very same forum Rush played their last concert with Neil Peart all the way back in 2015.
For a long time, fans have been speculating on who could take up the mantle of the late Neil Peart, with fans speculating names like Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy, Tool’s Danny Carey or even Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl.
However, with the announcement, Lee and Lifeson have gone with a relatively obscure pick, confirming German drum virtuoso Anika Nilles will be joining the band as its drummer for the tour. Nilles has a prolific YouTube channel where she uploads a variety of covers and original songs; however, most will likely know her as Jeff Beck’s touring drummer.
Lee would share in a press statement their reasons for reuniting, writing: After all that has gone down since that last show, Alex and I have done some serious soul searching and come to the decision that we fucking miss it,” Lee shared. “And that it’s time for a celebration of 50-something years of Rush music.”
The band would cease live performances in August 2015 due to Lifeson’s psoriatic arthritis and Neil Peart’s ongoing chronic tendinitis, which would cause the two immense pain during shows. Following their final performance, Peart announced that he would be retiring. He would be diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, only a year later.
Following the announcement of the tour, Rush would release a video for fans explaining their reasons for embarking on the tour. Lee would admit that it wasn’t until Taylor Hawkins’ tribute concert back in 2022 that the band felt the spark re-ignite. Lifeson would also confirm that each night would pay tribute to Peart and the impact he’s had on the band.
Lee would also reveal how he became aware of Nilles as a potential drummer for Rush.
“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 how 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.’”
Lee would also say in a statement:
“As we all know, Neil was irreplaceable,” Lee said. “Yet life is full of surprises, and we’ve been introduced to another remarkable person, an incredible drummer and musician who is adding another chapter to our story while continuing her own fascinating musical journey. Her name is Anika Nilles, and we could not be more excited to introduce her to our loyal and dedicated Rush fan base, whom, we know, will give her every chance to live up to that near-impossible role.”
The duo also confirmed there will be “another musician or two” to help Lifeson and Lee on stage “show off some of our new fancy dance steps”.