Liputan6.com, Jakarta Legendary rock band, Rush, officially announced their new drummer, Anika Nilles, for their "Fifty Something" reunion tour in 2026.
The announcement was made in October 2025.
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This tour will be Rush's first concert in eleven years, and an emotional one, as it marks their first appearance since the death of original and iconic drummer, Neil Peart, in 2020.
The decision to return to the stage was made after Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson received the blessing of the Peart family and the upcoming tour will celebrate the band's more than 50 years of music.
The Long-Awaited 'Rush' Reunion
Rush last toured in 2015, following Neil Peart's retirement from music that same year.
Peart's passed away in January 2020 at 67 due to glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer.
"He was struggling throughout that tour to play at his peak, because of physical achievements and other things that were going on with him," Lee told Eddie Trunk in 2018.
"He's a perfectionist, and he didn't want to go out and do anything less than what people expected of him. That's what drove him his whole career, and that's the way he wanted to go out, and I totally did that."
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, the two remaining members of Rush, had stated that the band would no longer perform without Peart.
However, Lee and Lifeson reconsider to make a reunion after jamming together at Lee's home studio in Toronto.
The "Fifty Something" tour is scheduled to begin in June 2026 in Los Angeles and will include 12 shows in seven cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, and Cleveland, as a tribute to Neil Peart and a celebration of Rush's long history.
Anika Nilles as Rush's New Drummer
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson faced a significant challenge in finding a drummer capable of filling the shoes of the "irreplaceable" Neil Peart.
Lee first learned about Anika Nilles through his bass technician, Scully, who had previously worked with Jeff Beck.
Scully spoke highly of Nilles after she played on Jeff Beck's final tour..
Lee himself praised Nilles in an interview with The Guardian in late 2023, calling her "incredible" after seeing her play on Jeff Beck's tour.
Lee and Lifeson then invited Nilles to Toronto for a secret session in March 2025.
Nilles returned twice to tighten up the approximately 35 songs they were preparing for the tour, leading Lee to declare that he and Lifeson were "thrilled" to have Nilles as their drummer.
"For me, music is all about emotion," Nilles told the site 15 Questions.
"On drums, that emotion comes through in dynamics—playing with sound and silence just as much as with notes. And of course, it’s also about the player’s touch. When all those elements come together, that’s when I really feel the beauty of music."
Who is Anika Nilles? Profile of the Talented Drummer
Anika Nilles is a German drummer, composer, and music educator born on May 29, 1983, in Aschaffenburg.
She is widely known for her technical precision and dynamic playing style.
Coming from a family of musicians, Nilles began playing drums at the age of six, taught directly by her father, who is also a drummer.
At the age of 26, Nilles decided to pursue drumming full-time.
She then earned a degree in popular music and music business from the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg in Mannheim, Germany, graduating with honors in 2013.
Anika Nilles' musical career took off on YouTube in the early 2010s, where she gained fame through her drum videos featuring original compositions.
Her first viral video was "Wild Boy" in 2013, followed by "Alter Ego" in 2014, which has received millions of views.
In 2017, Nilles released her solo debut album, "Pikalar," which was an instrumental album and charted on the "iTunes 200 Top Rock Releases" chart in the US.
Since then, she has released several other albums, including "For a Colorful Soul" (2020) and "Opuntia" (2022) with her band, Nevell, as well as her latest album, "False Truth," which was released in early 2025.
Nilles has also performed at international drum festivals and collaborated with leading musicians, including joining Jeff Beck's band for a European tour in 2022.