WASHINGTON – When Anika Nilles slid behind her expansive kit for her first show as Rush’s new drummer, she refused to look into the audience.
A pair of sticks used by the late Neil Peart, the legendary drummer she was replacing, lay nearby on her drum riser – a practice she continues at every show.
On that opening night in June at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, the kickoff of a tour no one thought would happen after the 2020 death of Peart, Nilles understood that the sold-out crowd would quickly rejoice at the sight of Rush’s guitarist Alex Lifeson and singer/bassist Geddy Lee.
But she also knew that from the first cymbal crash of the opening song “Xanadu,” every eye and ear would turn to the German virtuoso handpicked to replace arguably the greatest
rock drummer in history.
“I was so focused. I said to myself, ‘I will not look into the audience once, it doesn’t matter what happens.’ The whole show when the lights were on, I was looking down, trying to stay focused and not get overwhelmed by the audience,” Nilles says.
She credits the 45 minutes of breathing exercises and meditation with centering her as she approached the stage.
“The first song went well and the second song went well and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s actually good so far.’ And the more we played and everything worked, we all got more confident,” she says.
Sitting in the bar area of the Four Seasons in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C. on a day off between Rush dates at Capital One Arena, Nilles, 43, is soft-spoken, polite and, yes, focused as she sips a cappuccino. Her light eyes are piercing and her smile frequent as she shares what it’s been like going from a drummer known in music circles as a solo marvel and touring with Jeff Beck to a lauded star on the buzziest – and biggest surprise success – rock tour of the decade.
Rush will continue its massive return at the Las Vegas Sphere
Rush’s Fifty Something Tour grew cautiously, expanding from 23 instant arena sellouts to 62 dates across North America and now a total of 97 that will roll worldwide through April.
The band confirmed exclusively to USA TODAY that they will continue their live takeover with a five-date residency at the Las Vegas Sphere on May 21, 23, 26, 28 and 30. Each night, Rush will perform a set of fan favorites and greatest hits.
Tickets for the run, dubbed Elevate From the Norm, will go on sale at 1 p.m. ET at rush.com/sphere. Rush Backstage and Rush Fan Club members will have a two-hour window to purchase VIP and travel packages starting at 1 p.m. ET Nov. 6, with an artist presale starting at 1 p.m. ET Nov. 11.
Nilles is especially excited toplay the vaunted venue partially because she’s only been to Las Vegas once for a short visit and also because she’s seen video and heard about both the challenges and creative opportunities attached to the Sphere.
“Everything is new for me there,” she says of returning to Las Vegas. “I saw video of No Doubt and Metallica and U2and that was great.”
When asked if she’ll have any input into the creation of a show that will undoubtedly, as Lee said in the release announcing the shows, “concoct some new madness to suit this incredible venue,” Nilles gives a knowing look.
“I think Geddy is for sure involved. He’s involved in everything that’s happening and is aligning everything with Alex. He’s really, like, the brain.”
How Rush drummer Anika Nilles maintains her strength
Fans have marveled in person and at countless videos of Nilles tackling Peart’s tricky and complicated drum work, whether the rapid time shifts and bursts of double bass drum in "By-Tor And The Snow Dog" or the iconic opening of “Tom Sawyer” – which arrives with dramatic lighting after a humorous video of the “South Park” gang botching the song – and its subsequent tom-tom fills.
Nilles’ slender figure belies the strength required to maintain an extraordinary level of drumming for a three-hour show, even with a 20-minute intermission. For the first 10-15 shows, she used her downtime to keep playing backstage, both to keep her muscles warmed up and – there’s that focus again – to review the songs for the second half of the concert, which operates on a rotation of four set lists covering dozens of songs.
One Rush song she’s learned that she would love to play live? “Kid Gloves” from 1984’s “Grace Under Pressure” album.
“I told Geddy, if I can ever have a wish list song, can we do that one? And he was like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting,’” Nilles says. “I play it a little bit in the dressing room just for fun. I love the grooves, the buildup and everything. I love the harmonies and the vibe.”
To maintain her stamina during a Rush concert, Nilles essentially trains like an athlete, working on her core strength, lifting 45-pound dumbbells to fortify her shoulders and using cable machines for her triceps. She usually engages in workouts every other day, sometimes on show days if she was too exhausted on a welcomed day off. But, she says with another smile and a nose wrinkled in distaste, “I don’t do cardio.”
The moment Nilles steps off stage, she is greeted by her physiotherapist who works on her arms.
“There are shows when my arms are fine. And then there are shows when they are tired and tight. It doesn’t matter how it feels, we work on it a little bit and the next day feels so much smoother,” Nilles says.
Rush drummer Anika Nilles tells us the background of 'Anika's Antics'
Along with reveling in the return of Rush in general – grown men openly weep while witnessing their heroes onstage – fans have keyed in on the lighthearted vibe that permeates the show.
Lifeson and Lee grin at each other, toss approving nods at Nilles after she nails yet another complex Peart pattern and case the stage with an air of appreciation.
Much of that atmosphere can be attributed to Nilles and what she brings to the band.
“I just joined in their goofiness,” she says. “I mean, they’re fun. They’re such cool guys and are so nice. I really love them.”
A highlight of the shows comes at the close of the finale, “Working Man,” when Nilles engages in what has been dubbed “Anika’s Antics.”
She can’t remember when it started, but recalls during the last tour rehearsal in Toronto in 2025 that Lee and Lifeson told her, “We goof around on the ‘Working Man’ ending, so just do a weird face or whatever.”
Nilles took that permission to be silly at MVP levels, sometimes improvising at the last moment – like eating chips out of a bag in Detroit, using baguettes as drumsticks in Montreal or strumming a guitar in DC to mess with Lifeson – and other times slyly plotting.
The most epic, which most fans will agree, was “The Bag” at the Toronto show in August.
“I knew the story early on because when we’d sit together, (the guys) would tell stories (about their past) and The Bag is part of the intro (video),” Nilles says.
The backstory involves Rush opening for KISS in the ‘70s and a prank pulled by Lifeson. Nilles was thrilled when she found out her makeup artist had “The Bag” from filming Rush’s preshow video.
“She brought it to my room and we customized it to my size so I could still hit the drums,” Nilles says. “I was thinking, ‘Is this too much?’ because it was the first time I did something bigger than take a selfie or something. But they loved it and since then, I just go nuts with it.”
Anika Nilles is a rock star – and a teacher
For years, in addition to writing her own music and touring, Nilles has headed the drum department at Popakademie Baden-Württemberg, a university of popular music and business, in her native Germany.
Just because she is spotlighted on a major rock tour doesn’t mean she’s absolved of her responsibilities.
While she doesn’t necessarily miss teaching drums – something she has done since she was 12 – she still has to produce the curriculum for her classes while she’s on tour, including finding substitutes.
“I want to keep in touch with my students so we have Zoom meetings just to see how they feel in the semester and they ask how the tour is going,” Nilles says, oblivious to how unusual it sounds that a celebrated drummer on a worldwide tour is also preparing lessons for students in her downtime. “They ask me if we can do a little online session and I’m like, guys, I’m not into teaching right now.”
Not even professional instruction will interfere with Nilles’ focus, as she continues to meticulously prepare for every show, practice daily on a kit in her hotel room and concoct clever “antics” to keep Lee and Lifeson laughing.
So now does Nilles look at the audience from behind her drum kingdom?
“I do," she says with a smile. "I just have to ignore the air drummers.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rush drummer Anika Nilles talks Neil Peart, tour 'antics' and new Sphere shows | Exclusive
