Canadian rock band Rush have welcomed a new drummer to replace the late Neil Peart ahead of their newly announced 2026 tour.
Peart, the trio’s longtime drummer and lyricist, died in January 2020 from brain cancer. He was 67.
Now, more than five years after his tragic passing and a decade since their last tour, bandmates Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have added 42-year-old German drummer and composer Anika Nilles to their lineup.
“It’s truly an honor,” the award-winning musician wrote Monday on her Instagram Story. “Big shoes to fill! Thank you, Geddy and Alex, for trusting me and welcoming me on this incredible journey with you!”
Nilles has previously toured with the late Jeff Beck and released four solo instrumental albums, including her most recent record, False Truth, released last month.
“It was a very sad time, and it took time for us to even contemplate,” frontman Lee told Variety of Peart’s death in a new interview, adding, “And how do you replace someone who is irreplaceable?”
The “Tom Sawyer” band are scheduled to kick off their Fifty Something tour next summer in Los Angeles on June 7 and 9, before continuing on to six additional North American cities, including Toronto, Ontario; Mexico City, Mexico; and New York City.
Announced Monday on social media, the tour is described as a “celebration of Rush’s music, legacy, and the life of late drummer and lyricist Neil Peart.”
Rush will perform two nights in each location. “Each show will feature a distinct selection of songs and RUSH will build each night’s setlist from a catalogue of 35 songs including their greatest hits and fan favorites,” they teased on Instagram.
Fans will have until Thursday, October 9, at 11:59 EDT to sign up for pre-sale tickets, which go on sale Monday, October 13.
Rush last performed live in 2015 on their R40 Live Tour, with Peart formally retiring from the band after their final performance that August in Los Angeles.
The next year, he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Following his death in 2020, Lee and Lifeson called Peart their “friend, soul brother and bandmate over 45 years.”
Peart first joined Rush in 1974, replacing original drummer John Rutsey. He remained with the band for 40 years, including during its first major four-year hiatus beginning in 1997, which followed a series of personal tragedies — the death of his eldest daughter, Selena, in a car crash, and the loss of his first wife to cancer the following year.
The band later returned in 2001, going on to release their 17th studio album, Vapor Trails, in 2002.
In 2013, the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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