Alex Lifeson Praises Anika Nilles After First Rush Rehearsals: “She Nailed It by Day Five”
via Rush / YouTube
A Return After Eleven Years
In a new interview with Leona Graham of U.K.’s Absolute Radio, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson shared why they decided to reunite as RUSH for a tour in 2026 and 2027. The shows will be their first official performances under the RUSH name in 11 years. The tour will open at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, the same venue that hosted the final concert of the band’s “R40” anniversary run.
The upcoming tour, called “Fifty Something,” will celebrate the band’s music and history, as well as the life of late drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. Joining Lee and Lifeson will be German drummer Anika Nilles, who toured with Jeff Beck in 2022. She has been rehearsing with the pair as they prepare for their return to the stage.
First Rehearsals With Anika Nilles
Lifeson spoke in detail about the first rehearsals with Nilles in March 2025. He explained how important it was to find not only a strong musician but also someone they could connect with as a person.
“She’s a wonderful person. So that was half of the quest, can we find somebody that’s gonna be really fun to be with? She’s really a lovely person. She laughs easily. She felt immediately comfortable. I think she was quite nervous in those first few days… But she worked really hard. She prepped for it. She had five songs, and we went through those songs. But by the fourth day, Ged and I, we talked and we were quite sold on it. There was something that just wasn’t there quite. And we talked to her about the importance of the feel that Neil had in his drum arrangements. And then on the fifth day, which was the final day that we rehearsed — bang! — she just nailed all those songs. And that turned everything around. And we again got together at the studio and thought, ‘Okay, this is really gonna be worth doing. Let’s talk to her about it.’ And we brought her in and asked her if she’d be willing to continue. And she was really enthusiastic about it. And then we just continued throughout the year. That was in March. And then we got together in June and August and November, and [we went through] more material. And she was feeling more settled.”
The Moment Everything Clicked
Lee agreed that the fifth day of rehearsal changed their thinking. He said that was when their doubts faded and the idea of touring felt real.
“But that was the moment that the final tumbler clicked into place. On that day he’s describing, it was very much like that. We had all these questions, and that day those questions were erased. And we knew we had someone that would be fun to travel with us down this road. That’s when we had to get serious — ’cause we were starting from scratch. We had no crew, really. We had no management. We had to learn about the modern state of touring: how are we gonna put this show back on the road? So, it’s been a lot of work, but we’ve surrounded ourselves with some great people. And now we’re on that road.”
Two Sets and Forty Songs
RUSH will perform in cities across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, starting June 7, 2026. These will be “evening with” shows, meaning the band will play two sets each night. Every performance will include a different mix of songs chosen from a list of 40 tracks that span their career.
Lifeson explained how they plan to rotate material from night to night. “Yeah. [There will be] two sets each night. And our intention is to mix it up from one night to the next in a cycle of about five nights, so that every set will have other songs in them. So that we can really service the fans that like to come to our shows multiple times, give them the opportunity to hear other music. And it’s not just the same show over and over. It’s a lot more pressure [on us], but it’s good. It’s a challenge. It keeps you on your toes.”
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Pressure on the New Drummer
Lee said that expanding the song list has created extra pressure for Nilles. He recalled a recent conversation in Berlin while they were rehearsing and doing press.
“Last night we were talking to Anika. We saw her in Berlin. We were doing press there, and we were rehearsing together a few days ago. And there was this one song that we thought, ‘Oh, we should add that to the set.’ We’re up to 39 songs. And so I said, ‘Anika, we’re adding one more song.’ She said, ‘Noooo. I’m just getting comfortable with the first 25.’ So it’s a lot of pressure on her, obviously. I think she has the constitution and the mental capacity to handle it, ’cause she’s gonna be under scrutiny.”
When asked which tracks they were most excited to play, Lee chose not to reveal details. “Oh, we’re not gonna talk about setlists yet, because there are very few secrets in the world of the Internet now. And we know it’ll only be a secret for one week, and then everyone will know. So, obviously there are the big songs that people know and love that we will have to play regularly and we want to play regularly. But there’s gonna be a turnover — about 40% of the set will be different night to night to night. I think we have five different days’ worth of sets.”
A Longer Rehearsal Plan
In another interview with U.K.’s Planet Rock, Lifeson discussed the challenges of preparing for the “Fifty Something” tour. He said this time they are rehearsing much longer than in the past.
“We always rehearsed a lot, and in the past we would rehearse on our own individually for maybe a month, and then we would get together and rehearse for a month, and then we’d do a couple of weeks, full-production rehearsals in a venue. So by the time you hit the stage on the first show, you’re seasoned; it’s like the 20th show. The difference this time around is that we’re rehearsing for about a year — seriously — before the [first] show. We just really wanna be at our absolute peak by the time we start the tour in earnest.”
Lee added that Nilles faces a unique task. “And it’s a lot for Anika to take on. Even though we’re rusty on some songs, they’re lying in the grooves in the brain somewhere, and it comes back. But she’s starting from scratch. And she’s starting from scratch trying to fill the shoes of a guy whose shoes are impossible to fill. So she has her work cut out for her. But she’s incredibly, deeply talented, both technically and from a musical knowledge standpoint. She’s got a fantastic work ethic. She’s easy to be around. She’s a great person, and she’s ready to take on the inevitable scrutiny of RUSH fans. And so far they’ve been very welcoming, they’ve been very warm, and she’s really appreciative of that.”
Fans Respond in a Big Way
Lee said the strong reaction to the tour announcement surprised both him and Lifeson. They had first planned a small run of shows in a few cities.
“Originally the tour we wanted to do was just going to be six or seven cities and we would thought we’d do these small residencies,” Lee explained. “And when we announced it, people went crazy, and we were taken aback. Our new management was very heartened and very bullish. They thought the shows would do well, obviously, but we didn’t expect them to sell out in a few days. It was insanity. And so we had not been prepared for anything beyond that. But management always thinks ahead. And we had hoped that we could come to the U.K. in the fall of 2026, but we couldn’t get the dates. So we added an American leg, which is also selling incredibly well. And so finally we can organize coming over to Europe and the U.K. [in 2027].
“So it’s a lot to take on,” Geddy admitted. “We haven’t done a tour that big in many years, so we’re just gonna make sure that it is effing note perfect.”
Expanding the Tour Worldwide
The 2026 leg of the tour first included 22 dates across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Those shows sold out quickly, leading to more dates being added. The schedule now includes 58 performances in 24 cities, with over half a million tickets sold for 2026 alone.
Earlier this week, the band confirmed South America and Europe dates for early 2027. It will mark their first time playing in Europe since 2013 and their first visit to South America in 17 years. Along with Nilles, Lee and Lifeson will be joined by keyboard player Loren Gold, known for his work with The Who and Roger Daltrey.
The band is also offering VIP experiences and travel packages. Options include meet-and-greet access, autograph sessions, production tours, entry to the Xanadu pre-show lounge, exclusive merchandise, hotel stays, premium tickets, and special gifts.
Remembering Neil Peart
Fans first learned about the tour on October 6, 2025, through a RUSH newsletter that included a home video from Lee’s studio. The announcement carried added meaning because of the band’s loss in 2020.
Peart died in January 2020 after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, a fast-moving brain cancer. He was 67. RUSH waited three days before sharing the news, and the response from fans and musicians around the world was immediate and emotional.
Since his death, Lee and Lifeson had not recorded new music or performed live under the RUSH name. Both later confirmed that several drummers contacted them in the days after Peart’s passing to ask about stepping in. For years, the future of RUSH remained unclear, until the rehearsals in March 2025 began to shape a new chapter for the band.
