RIK EMMETT Reveals He Lost 'All' His Hair After TRIUMPH's 2026 Comeback Tour: 'You May See Me Wearing A Lot Of Hats' At Upcoming Shows

In a new interview with Rob Edwards of Talkin' Bout Rock, TRIUMPH's Rik Emmett opened up about returning to the road for a North American tour after a 30-year hiatus. For the 2026 trek, TRIUMPH's original members Emmett and drummer/vocalist Gil Moore were joined by guitarist Phil X, drummer and keyboardist Brent Fitz and bassist Todd Kerns. Phil X, whose real name is Theofilos Xenidis, is a member of BON JOVI and a former member of TRIUMPH, while Fitz and Kerns are both members of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS. Original TRIUMPH bassist Mike Levine did not take part in any of the 2026 tour dates after revealing in December 2025 that he has "a problem" with his hand that "precludes" him "from being able to really play well."

Regarding why he changed his mind about hitting the road again with TRIUMPH again after previously calling the reunion tour a "non-starter", the legendary TRIUMPH singer and guitarist said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I know, I know. I do these interviews [about TRIUMPH touring again], and then people really love rubbing my face in it. 'You're such a liar, Rik.' Oh, come on. I get it. It's, like, 'Oh, a hypocrite. You're such a hypocrite.' I go, 'Yes.'

"Honestly, I don't mind [when people call me out for previously being against touring with TRIUMPH again]," Rik continued. "I was being honest with you at the time. I never in my wildest dreams countenanced the thought that I would be out on tour again with TRIUMPH. And then this process started — it was like chipping away, where the songs started to get used for the NHL and on the TV in the playoffs, and then we're getting into this Hall Of Fame and into this thing. And the Songwriters Hall Of Fame was a beautiful thing that happened in Canada, and Phil and I went and played with the band that night. And then Gil had got Vector Management involved. Gil's really the guy that owns TRIUMPH. It's his brand. He's the guy. And he wanted to take something out on tour that was gonna be like holograms and little stuff. And he comes to me, and he says to me, 'Rik, can we shoot you on a green screen and then we'll take you out on tour as a hologram?' And I'm going, 'You can do whatever you like, buddy. Sure. I don't care.' But then it was, like, 'Hey, do you guys wanna come out and play at the NHL playoffs?' Edmonton had made it to the finals, and they went, 'Yeah, 'Lay It On The Line' is getting played a lot. And you just come out and just do three songs.' And the management came to me, Vector, who had sort of been talking to Gil about his whole hologram tour thing, and they said, 'What if we got Phil X on guitar and Todd Kerns on bass and singing and Brent Fitz on drums and stuff? And you see, you'd have these guys behind you.' And did they have something in the back of their minds and deep in their hearts where they were trying to convince me? I think they probably did. I look at it now and I go, 'They had a plan all along.' And they were just bringing me along gradually, little by little, to suck me in."

Rik continued: "But that's what happened. I got sucked in. And so then it was, like, 'Look, we're thinking we can take this out on tour. It's never gonna work without you, Rik,' smooch, smooch, smooch on my big fat butt. And so then I went to my wife and I said, 'I don't know. Should I come out of retirement? I don't think I want to.' … And then she said, 'Well, I don't know. Let's do pros and cons.' And I went, 'Okay.' She said, 'Let's start with pros. They're more fun. What would be the best thing about it?' I said, 'Well, for starters, I'm gonna have to get in shape. I'm gonna have to lose, like, 15 or 20 pounds, and I'm gonna have to get a personal trainer or something.' She said, 'Well, honey, we don't even have to do any more pros and cons. That's reason enough for you to do it. You're gonna get your health back, and that's a great thing.'"

Reflecting on the first leg of the "Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded" tour and looking ahead to the trek's second leg, Rik said: "Now, when I went on the first leg of the tour, I felt pretty great about it, but I gotta tell you, to be 100% honest, after it was over, and then, man, it was a crazy summer. My wife and I were having our 50th anniversary, and my hair started falling out, and I had alopecia areata, and I lost all my hair. So it was, like, that's not so great. So, I'm sort of dealing with that and coping with that. And I'm not exactly sure how that one's gonna play out before the tour. You may see me as a guy wearing a lot of hats. But however it plays out, I feel good. My health is good. I'm strong, and I feel like I can play and sing — not every night."

Emmett continued: "On the first leg, we did a thing where we played four shows in four nights, and after the fourth night — we did two of them in Boston, and the fourth night was Boston, and I said to everybody, management, road manager, anybody within earshot, 'I'm never doing this again. I'm never gonna play four in four nights.' And they went, 'Oh, okay. Yeah, we hear you.' And so this next leg, it's gonna be much more reasonable. Like, two nights, one off. One on, one off. Or two on, four off. One on... It's gonna be very spread out, and it'll make it a lot easier for me to survive physically and for my throat to make it."

The second leg will take TRIUMPH through major markets across the Midwest, Northeast, Southwest, and West Coast in November and December. The run will culminate with December 18 and December 19 performances at the Tribute Community Center in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada and at Canada Life Place in London, Ontario, Canada, respectively.

Moore recently confirmed that TRIUMPH is working on a new documentary about the legendary Canadian rockers' first tour in more than 30 years. It will follow TRIUMPH's first documentary, "Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine", which premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. The 97-minute film, directed by Sam Dunn and Marc Ricciardelli for Banger Films, was in pre-production in 2019 with plans for a 2020 release, but the COVID-19 pandemic stalled those plans. But finally in 2022, TRIUMPH devotees around the world were able to see the documentary, which mixed interviews with the band, archival footage and ecstatic and emotional responses from the fans.

The band's return to the road follows a defining year honoring TRIUMPH's impact across generations. In June 2025, the band was celebrated with "Magic Power: All-Star Tribute To Triumph" (Round Hill Records, June 6, 2025),a 15-track tribute album featuring rock luminaries such as Phil X, Sebastian Bach, Slash, Nancy Wilson, Joey Belladonna, Dee Snider, Lawrence Gowan, Deen Castronovo, Alex Lifeson, Jeff Keith, Mickey Thomas and produced by the world-renowned Mike Clink (GUNS N' ROSES, MÖTLEY CRÜE, WHITESNAKE).

Further solidifying their celebrated status, TRIUMPH was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame in October 2025, a prestigious honor recognizing their enduring influence, masterful songwriting, and contributions to Canada's cultural legacy. This induction adds to their long list of accolades, which includes membership in the Canadian Music Industry Hall Of Fame (2007),the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame (2008),Canada's Walk Of Fame (2019) and Metal Hall Of Fame (2021).