Last week, Rush co-founders Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson announced their return to the stage for a very special 2026 headline tour, Fifty Something. It notably marks the first time Lee and Lifeson will have toured together in eleven years since the end of Rush’s R40 Tour in August 2015.
An additional sensation was the announcement of the person who will sit behind the drums for these shows. As all drum maniacs out there already know, it will be the prominent German drummer, Anika Nilles, who is endorsed by the following brands: Tama, Meinl, Evans, Promark, Roland, Beyerdynamic.
A few days ago, Anika Nilles took to her social media to comment on the situation related to Rush coming back:
Hey there,
The past few days have been quite overwhelming. I’m sure many of you feel the same. I want to take a moment to sincerely thank Geddy and Alex for their trust and for welcoming me on this incredible new journey with @rush. I also don’t want to miss the chance to warmly welcome all the new faces here and to thank you for your kind and open-minded words – they truly mean a lot. At the same time, I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has followed and supported my journey over the years. We’re all in this together now, and I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead.
It is also worth noting the comments from Anika’s most prominent industry peers, which are full of support and joy over the success of their colleague:
Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater): Congrats @anika.nilles 👏 I know you’re gonna be amazing!
Eloy Casagrande (Slipknot, ex-Sepultura): I can’t wait to see you smashing with them. You deserve it!
Aquiles Priester (Angra, Paul Di’Anno, W.A.S.P.): Congratulations! It’s gonna be great!!!
Brandon Toews (Drumeo): Huge congrats!!
Brad Wilk (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, Prophets Of Rage): Congratulations!!!! What an honor!!!! You will be GREAT!!
Nate Smith: Congrats Anika — truly wonderful and well-deserved.
Todd Sucherman: Beautiful! And congratulations again.
Claus Hessler: Just be careful with your big toe and everything will be fine. „lLiving in the limelight“ now.
Jonathan Moffett (The Jacksons, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Elton John, Madonna): Huge congrats and very well deserved!
Official Rush website: https://www.rush.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/rushtheband
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rush/
YT: https://www.youtube.com/rush
X: https://x.com/rushtheband
Official Anika Nilles website: https://www.anikanilles.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/AnikaNilles
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anika.nilles/
YT: https://www.youtube.com/@anykmusic
X: https://x.com/anikanilles
