Neil Peart’s Widow Calmed New Rush Drummer Anika Nilles’ Nerves

Rush drummer Anika Nilles recalled how a message of support from Neil Peart’s widow calmed her nerves in the run-up to her debut as his replacement.

The German musician underwent a five-day audition before Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson decided she was the right person to join them on drums for their Fifty Something tour.

And while learning to fit into the songs was one challenge, an equally difficult task lay in trying not to think about Peart all the time, as she told Rolling Stone in a new interview.

“In each song part I had to coach myself a little bit...not to fly away,” Nilles said of the intense rehearsals once she’d been hired. “That all helped not to think too much about how big that seat is and what role I’m filling in it.”

Her mantra, she said, was: “Be in the moment, be present, be focused.”

It took her a while to establish what was expected of her. “I wasn’t sure if I should prep every little detail, or to have the main parts down, but have some freedom here and there.”

As she got to better understand Peart’s approach, she realized she’d have to change her own. Instead of her established stick control style, she started lifting weights to build muscle for a more direct delivery. ”I have to play more out of muscle power,” she said.

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“Now, I have a little bit of Neil in me. What I learned for myself the most is the compositional part. He was brilliant in that, really. He constantly builds, and builds, and builds the drum part to a point where you think, ‘What the hell is going on?'”

Her confidence increased when Peart’s widow, Carrie Nuttall, made contact ahead of the first show. ”I got a nice message from her, a really lovely message,” Nilles said. “It was really nice to hear that she is on board and looking forward to this whole journey.”

She reported that she felt “really energized, and relieved” as the Fifty Something tour continues. Asked what she told herself after her first few performances, she laughed: “I made it through!”