# Anika Nilles on Her Rush Journey: ‘I Have No Ego, So I Play What’s Required’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/anika-nilles-on-her-rush-journey-i-have-no-ego-so-i-play-whats-required/
- Published: 2026-10-26T16:01:10+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-26T16:50:25+00:00
- Original publisher: Rolling Stone
- Original article: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/anika-nilles-interview-rush-tour-neil-peart-1235617521/
- Topics: Art, Culture

## Key points

- Nilles is touring with Rush after a year of preparation.
- She learned 40 songs and adapted her playing to match their feel.
- She says capturing the songs’ feel was harder than playing the parts.

## Summary

Anika Nilles has joined Rush on tour, taking on the demanding role of performing parts made famous by the late Neil Peart. After four opening shows in Los Angeles, she said she felt energised and relieved, and described learning to match the band’s distinctive feel as a greater challenge than mastering the complex drum parts.

The German-born drummer, 43, learned 40 Rush songs over a year of rehearsals after Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson invited her to play with them. She adapted her technique, including changing how she played “Tom Sawyer”, and said she focused on the music and her bandmates before feeling more comfortable with the audience by the third show. Nilles began studying music at 26 after working in social care and at a preschool, then built a career through viral videos, solo recordings and touring with Jeff Beck.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.