Anika Nilles reveals what went through her head before that ‘Tom Sawyer’ fill

Anika Nilles, the German fusion drummer chosen to sit behind the drum set for Rush’s 2026 and 2027 tours, discussed the challenge of filling in for the band’s late drummer Neil Peart in a July 2026 interview with David Frangioni of Modern Drummer, as per Blabbermouth. Anika made reference to Lifeson and Lee’s earlier admission that, following their initial rehearsals together, they weren’t sure if Nilles would be the best musician to replace Peart and a good match for the group.

There was a moment where I also thought on day four [of our first rehearsals], ‘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, like within that one session I had to learn what they really require from me feeling-wise, and I had to understand what Neil’s feeling really was to them — to them. And I went back to the hotel after this session, and I just went through all the talk we had and tried to figure it and really internalize what they told me. And I listened back. I sat in the hotel room on a pillow to replay the parts — no practice kit; pillows. And I also had a talk to my producer, a guitarist, and he is a big Rush guy. He listened to Rush a lot as he was younger. He gave me also confidence: ‘You will nail it. You just have to listen to the songs a couple of times more’ and apply the feedback. And then the next day, it was there. I think I got it. Sleeping one night over everything definitely helped.

At the opening performance of the “Fifty Something” tour on June 7 at Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California, Anika also thought about the audible response she got from the Rush fans following her immaculate performance of the famous “Tom Sawyer” fill.

Yeah, I was a little bit, like, ‘Oh, what’s going on?’ But, yeah, it felt really good to just bring that one out off the table. That was the most important song, I think, for the fans, and also for me to just nail that. And that was such a relief. Five seconds before the fill, I was, like, ‘Okay, let’s go. Don’t fuck it up. And let’s go.’ [Laughs] Maybe that was the thought to fans too. I don’t know. [Laughs].