Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid recently slammed concert promoters advertising Rush’s new tour for failing to acknowledge their new drummer, Anika Niles, in promotional materials. He called out the the promoters’ approach in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter).
Reid’s comments highlighted a radio advertisement promoting tickets for a Rush concert that only mentioned founding members Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. The ad did not mention Neil Peart’s replacement, Niles, who has taken on the significant challenge of filling Peart’s role after his passing.
Vernon Reid slams Rush concert promoters
“I heard a radio style add for Rush tix going on sale, that only mentions Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. No mention of Anika Niles at all,” Reid said.
“I found this disturbing given the sheer enormity of the grace under pressure she has to possess. An ‘introducing Anika Niles’ would have been cool.”
Reid went further to criticize how this approach contradicts the band’s legacy.
“It runs counter to what the band has stood for, for years, in not say her name,” he continued.
“The fact that Rush is playing at all fairly demands that the drummer in Neil’s stead, not be treated as an anonymous cog in a cash-grabbing machine. Their legacy deserves better than that. Neil’s does.”
I heard a radio style add for Rush tix going on sale, that only mentions Alex Lifeson & Geddy Lee. No mention of Anika Niles at all. I found this disturbing given the sheer enormity of the grace under pressure she has to possess. An “introducing Anika Niles” would have been cool.
— Vernon Reid (@vurnt22) October 13, 2025
Reid’s criticism comes as Rush prepares for their highly anticipated return to touring, which marks their first performances since the death of Neil Peart in 2020.
Rush has decided to return to touring in 2026 following Peart’s death. Peart retired from touring after their 2015 R40 tour due to physical issues and a perfectionist attitude toward performance quality. The band then announced in October 2025 that German drummer Anika Nilles would be joining Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson for the reunion tour.
Alex Lifeson discusses Rush reunion
Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson also recently spoke about the “intense complexity” of songs that made reuniting Rush challenging, and revealed how he and Geddy Lee got the idea to reunite in the first place.
Further, Lifeson talked about his and Lee’s decision to find a new drummer and reunite as Rush. He noted that the decision was “very difficult” on many different levels:
“First of all, because [of] what it entails in terms of work, but also what had transpired, you know, losing a member like Neil is devastating. It was a very sad time, and it took time for us to even contemplate. This is a relatively recent decision, and I would say it was kind of out of the question for the longest time because of those circumstances – and how do you replace someone who’s irreplaceable?”
Initially, Lifeson and Lee weren’t too keen about reuniting Rush. However, something changed while they jammed together. Lifeson noted how the gradual shift happened, revealing he and Lee slowly started playing Rush songs for their amusement:
“He would come over, drink my coffee, hang around, jam, and we would laugh. And then one day, I don’t know why, we started playing some Rush songs for fun. God, we were laughing so hard, and we were enjoying it so much, and it was almost like playing those songs dispelled the dark clouds.”
