New Rush drummer Anika Nilles opened up about the challenges of her early rehearsals with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, addressing a moment when the band nearly decided not to move forward with her, in an interview with Modern Drummer Official.
Nilles was asked to respond to comments Alex Lifeson had previously made. Lifeson said that by the end of the fourth day of rehearsals, he and Geddy Lee were unsure things were working out. He added that everything clicked by day five.
When asked directly — “Alex told Classic Rock that on day four he and Getty were not sure it was working. And then on day five it clicked” — Nilles explained what she experienced during that difficult stretch.
“Yeah. There were a moment where I also thought on day four, I’m not sure if I’m up to that task because we talked about the feeling and I think it was day four with Tom Sawyer where I had to learn about Neil’s feeling really quick,” Nilles said. “Like within like that one session I had to learn what they really require from me feeling wise.”
She described going back to her hotel that night to process the feedback she had received.
“I had to understand what Neil’s feeling really was to them, you know, and I went back to the hotel after this session and I just like went through all the talk we had and tried to figure it and really internalize what they told me and I listened back,” she continued. “I sat in a hotel room on a pillow to replay.”
Nilles also credited a conversation with a longtime Rush fan for helping restore her confidence before the breakthrough came.
“And I also had a talk to my producer or guitarist and he is a big Rush guy. He listened to Rush a lot when he was younger. He gave me also like confidence,” she said. “You have to listen to the songs a couple of times more and apply this feeling. And then the next day it was there. I think I got it, and sleeping one night over everything definitely helped.”
By day five, Nilles said she had found the right feel to play Neil Peart’s parts, resolving the doubts that had lingered earlier in the rehearsal process.
That five-day stretch turns out to have been far more consequential than a routine rehearsal session. It was, in effect, the audition that decided whether Nilles would become Rush’s touring drummer at all. The tension she describes lines up with everything else known about how she landed the job.
Nilles spent roughly 14 months preparing for the role before Rush’s Fifty Something tour opened in June 2026, learning approximately 43 songs from the band’s catalog. Much of that preparation happened remotely, with Nilles working from her home in Germany on shared files before flying to Toronto to rehearse the material in person with Lee and Lifeson.
Geddy Lee has since made clear that the band’s decision to bring Nilles on board had nothing to do with optics. He has stated plainly that Rush did not hire her because she is a woman, but because she is an exceptional drummer. That point underscores just how high the stakes were during those five make-or-break days in Toronto.
Before Rush, Nilles built her reputation as a drummer largely through YouTube, releasing three albums with her band Nevell and later touring with Jeff Beck. That background in odd-time, technically demanding material likely explains why she was able to close the gap so quickly once she understood exactly what Lee and Lifeson needed from her.
The rehearsal ordeal she describes mirrors Lee’s own recollection of the process, in which he admitted there were moments of genuine uncertainty about whether the fit would work. Both accounts point to the same conclusion: the difference between day four and day five came down to Nilles internalizing not just the notes, but the emotional intent behind Neil Peart’s playing.
