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Welcome to the behind the Song Podcast, taking you deeper into classic rock's most timeless tunes. Here's your host, Janda. I'm Janda, and in this bonus episode of the behind the Song podcast, let's pour one out for all the Rush tribute band drummers out there. When Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson surprised everybody and announced their 2026 tour celebrating 50 years of Rush's music, Annika Niles was named to join them behind the drum kit in the absence of the professor, the late Neil Peart, which had lots and lots and lots of Rush fans immediately wondering, who is Annika Niles now? Drum nerds definitely know who she is. She's German, grew up in a musical family, her dad was a drummer. She started playing at the age of six. She's a music educator and she started putting her videos up on YouTube in the early 2010s. She is right now on a world tour with her band Neville, who've released three albums. Here's a little bit of her playing. She was picked by the late great Jeff Beck to perform on his 2022 tour. And here's a little bit of her performing with Beck on Freeway Jam at a concert in Texas on that. Pretty incredible. Oh, and she has ties to one of Chicago's own too. She performed on a song on Jim Peterick's album Tigress in 2021. Watch any of her videos and you'll quickly understand that she is an elite drummer, an incredibly musical drummer, precise but not mechanical, talented with the feel that comes across in her playing that is specific to her, that unique feel that all the great drummers have, including the late Jeff Brucaro of Toto, who she said is one of her main influences. She came to the attention of Lee and Lifeson by way of Lee's bass tech, who told him that he'd been working with Niles and that he thought she was great. When they met her and started playing with her, they said that it immediately felt good, like here was a drummer who could play Rush's material well, those complex songs and bring her own style to the live performances too. She was introduced to Rush fans in a statement in which Lee said annika Niles was, quote, an incredible drummer and musician who is adding another chapter to our story while continuing her own fascinating musical journey. We could not be more excited to introduce her to our loyal and dedicated Rush fan base, whom we know will give her every chance to live up to that near impossible role. End quote. They get it. How important and special Rush's music and the memory of the professor is to their fans. They framed this 50th anniversary tour as a tribute to honor Neil Peart, to honor the incredible music that the three of them created together. As Lifeson said in a video released around the tour announcement, quote, it will be beautiful to celebrate him every single night. End quote. And he went on to say that they're working on around 35 songs for a two hour set that will change from night to night. Peart's wife and daughter gave their blessing to this much anticipated tour too, saying in a statement that they are thrilled to support the 50 Something Tour and to honor Neil's extraordinary legacy as both a drummer and a lyricist. End quote. It's impossible to replace Neil Peart, of course, but I believe he would be quite pleased with his bandmate's decision to bring Niles on board for the tour. I believe he would want Lee and Lifeson to play their music for as long as they wanted to, even though he's gone. And how great to have Rush back in the limelight, so to speak. Rush fans by and large have been incredibly supportive of this decision and with the respect and the care with which Lee and Lifeson announced that they're doing this. As always, there's a feeling of friendship and love in this tour announcement, sentiments that have carried through between the band members and between the band and their fans for decades. It's been over 10 years since Rush performed live. I actually saw their very last gig at the Forum in Los Angeles with Neil Peart in 2015, a mind blowing concert experience that I'll never forget. I feel very lucky to have seen that show my one and only time seeing Rush. And I can't wait to see Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson joined on stage by Annika Niles when they come to Chicago in July. I'm excited about Niles being chosen to join them. I think she's going to totally kill it. 2026 is going to be a great year for Rush fans. Let me know what you think about all of it. Hit me up on the socials and thanks for sharing the music with me. And as always, thanks for listening to behind the Song on the Way. Much more Classic rock and roll.
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