“I mean, it’s a terrible position to put someone in. They would always be compared to the man”: Geddy Lee on why he and Alex Lifeson chose Jeff Beck drummer Anika Nilles to fill the late, great Neil Peart’s role in Rush reunion tour

Rush's Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee perform in 2015; on the right, Anika Nilles, the drummer who will be playing drums for the band's reunion tour.

There was no escaping it. When frontman/bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson decided that they wanted to take to the stage together as Rush, for the first time since their 2015 farewell show, they faced an impossible decision. Who would be behind the drum kit?

The loss of Neil Peart, the band’s chief lyricist and drummer, who died in 2020, was incalculable. There was no question; the Professor was not someone they could replace, and nor would they try. This reunion is about celebrating Peart’s life and legacy, performing the songs they wrote together. They needed someone special