It's possible that no drummer has ever operated under the scrutiny that Anika Nilles has experienced on Rush's Fifty Something tour. Replacing the irreplaceable Neil Peart was always going to be a huge task, but the German musician has approached the task with enormous skill, drawing praise not only for her performances behind the kit, but for the infectious joy with which she performs.
Still, the scrutiny persists. And during Rush's first show at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, this week, Nilles provided onlookers with another stellar moment. During the much-loved drum fill section of set closer Tom Sawyer, she lost her grip on one of her sticks, sending it cartwheeling away from the kit and out of reach.
Lesser mortals might have panicked, but Nilles recovered immediately, grabbing a spare stick and continuing her path around the toms. As usual, the completed fill was greeted with roars of approval from the crowd, many of whom wouldn't have noticed the mishap.
Video of the moment suggests that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson picked up on the near-calamity, with an amused Lifeson eventually picking up the stray stick and tossing it into the audience, and it was smiles all round as Tom Sawyer finished.
This isn't the first time Nilles has lost a stick on the tour. Ninety seconds into the opening number on the first night of the tour, Xanadu, the same thing happened. A fumbled stick. An instant recovery. Onwards and upwards.
The San Antonio stick incident can be watched below. The next show on Rush's Fifty Something tour is the second date at the venue, this evening (September 25). Full dates follow.
Rush: Fifty Something tour 2026
Sep 25: San Antonio Frost Bank Center, TX
Oct 01: Houston Toyota Center, TX
Oct 05: Denver Ball Arena, CO
Oct 07: Denver Ball Arena, CO
Oct 10: Seattle Climate Pledge Arena, WA
Oct 12: Seattle Climate Pledge Arena, WA
Oct 15: San Jose SAP Center, CA
Oct 17: San Jose SAP Center, CA
Oct 21: St. Louis Enterprise Center, MO
Oct 23: Cincinatti Heritage Bank Center, OH
Oct 25: Washington Capital One Arena, D.C.
Oct 27: Washington Capital One Arena, D.C.
Oct 30: Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena, CT
Nov 01: Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena, CT
Nov 05: Hollywood Hard Rock Live, FL
Nov 07: Hollywood Hard Rock Live, FL
Nov 09: Tampa Benchmark International Arena, FL
Nov 11: Tampa Benchmark International Arena, FL
Nov 15: Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena, PA
Nov 20: Charlotte Spectrum Center, NC
Nov 22: Charlotte Spectrum Center, NC
Nov 25: Atlanta State Farm Arena, GA
Nov 27: Atlanta State Farm Arena, GA
Dec 01: Glendale Desert Diamond Arena, AZ
Dec 03: Glendale Desert Diamond Arena, AZ
Dec 10: Edmonton Rogers Place, AB
Dec 12: Edmonton Rogers Place, AB
Dec 15: Vancouver Rogers Arena, BC
Dec 17: Vancouver Rogers Arena, BC
Rush: Fifty Something tour 2027
Jan 15: Buenos Aires Movistar Arena, Argentina
Jan 22: Curitiba Arena da Baixada, Brazil
Jan 24: São Paulo Allianz Parque, Brazil
Jan 26: São Paulo Allianz Parque, Brazil
Jan 30: Rio de Janeiro Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos. Brazil
Feb 01: Belo Horizonte Estádio Mineirão, Brazil
Feb 04: Brasília Arena BRB Mané Garrincha, Brazil
Feb 19: Paris La Défense Arena, France
Feb 21: Berlin Uber Arena, Germany
Feb 23: Amstersam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
Feb 25: Munich Olympiahalle, Germany
Feb 28: Cologne Lanxess Arena, Germany
Mar 02: Hamburg Barclays Arena, Germany
Mar 04: Stuttgart Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Germany
Mar 08: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Mar 10: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Mar 12: Manchester Co-op Live, UK
Mar 14: Manchester Co-op Live, UK
Mar 16: London O2 Arena, UK
Mar 18: London O2 Arena, UK
Mar 21: London O2 Arena, UK
Mar 27: Kraków Arena Kraków, Poland
Mar 30: Milan Unipol Dome, Italy
Apr 01: Basel St. Jakobshalle Basel, Switzerland
Apr 04: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Apr 06: Oslo Unity Arena, Norway
Apr 08: Stockholm Avicii Arena, Sweden
Apr 10: Helsinki Veikkaus Arena, Finland
