When Anika Nilles took the stage at the 2020 Drumeo Festival, few could have foreseen how pivotal that moment would become in her journey. Now, in 2025, she’s been announced as the drummer for Rush’s upcoming 2026 tour, stepping into a role made legendary by Neil Peart’s decades-long legacy. Let’s revisit that performance, and look ahead to the challenges and promise she faces.
Setting the Scene: Drumeo Festival 2020
The Drumeo Festival of 2020 was a landmark event for drum enthusiasts and educators worldwide. It brought together top drummers, clinics, performances, and masterclasses. According to the Day 1 recap, Anika took the stage and delivered a performance filled with “creative rudimental fills and groovy, funky hi-hat work,” along with explorations of time, note displacement, and complex patterns.
Drumeo’s coverage highlights that she performed the track “Mister” (from her 2017 album Pikalar) during this set.
In their write-up, they lauded her “incredible use of groove and unusual subdivisions.”
One social media post summed up audience reaction well:
“Groove, feel & subdivision mastery – Anika Nilles blew our collective minds at the 2020 Drumeo Festival”
In short: she delivered something technically strong, musically expressive, and emotionally engaging — exactly the kind of performance that turns heads.
The Big Announcement: Joining Rush
On October 6, 2025, it was officially revealed that Anika Nilles will serve as Rush’s drummer for their 2026 North American tour, effectively taking on the mantle after Neil Peart’s passing in 2020.
That’s a monumental role to assume. Neil Peart wasn’t just a drummer—he was the drummer in the eyes of many prog-rock fans: lyricist, musical architect, master of time signatures, and a thoughtful philosopher behind his kits. Any successor must navigate a dual pressure: honoring the legacy, and making the role her own.
