RIK EMMETT Says TRIUMPH's Reunion Tour 'Could' Be Extended, Depending On Initial Ticket Sales

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, legendary Canadian rockers TRIUMPH spoke about their decision to reunite for their first tour in more than 30 years. The North American run of shows will celebrate the band's 50th anniversary, and feature support from APRIL WINE.

The 2026 trek will kick off with a series of dates in Canada, beginning April 22 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and running through a May 8 show in Calgary, Alberta. From there, the band will hit the U.S. starting May 13 in Rosemont, Illinois, and wrapping up June 6 in Boston. In all, 10 Canadian and 14 American cities are included on the tour.

For the 2026 tour, TRIUMPH's classic lineup consisting of Rik Emmett (guitar, vocals),Mike Levine (bass, keyboards),and Gil Moore (drums, vocals) will be 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.

Regarding why now was the right time for TRIUMPH to reunite for a tour, Rik told WRIF: "I think we all had to sort of bow to the ambition and desire of Gil Moore, who wanted to get the rock and roll machine back up on the road so that he could mount some sort of show thing that only he can imagine. And that Mike and I just go, 'Oh, God, what are we getting ourselves into?'"

Asked by Meltdown if it's correct to say that Gil was "the mastermind behind all the TRIUMPH stagecraft" back in the day, Moore replied: "I'll take one for the team for that, yeah. I always felt better behind the scenes, to be honest. I always liked the technology and the big spectacle and all that. But I think we tried to use the stage in a way that we really enhanced the music. And what I see now in a lot of tours, I'm seeing a lot of flashing, kind of gratuitous flotsam and jetsam of effects and stuff. And that's not the intent here. What we're really trying to do is tell the story of TRIUMPH from the early days to the present and really trace the interest that our fans have had that's gone on for years and now decades to become what they tell us, so how they own the songs, how they have been impacted by the lyrics. And we've noticed that in that feedback that it's all about kind of the positivity in some of our songs, the uplifting messages within the 'never surrender' and the 'hold on to your dreams' kind of content that was in the lyrics. So hopefully the show will add another dimension to that, I'll say, and not just be a bunch of flashing nonsense. It's gonna be something that's very, very well crafted. I've been working on it for about six years with our back-in-the-day lighting director Paul Dexter, who's really a kind of a genius in this area. So we're gonna try to bring that to the stage and really have a show that people will never forget. That's what we're trying to do."

Asked if the success of the 2021 TRIUMPH documentary "Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine" and the recent TRIUMPH tribute album "Magic Power: All Star Tribute To Triumph" was partly the impetus for the 2026 reunion tour, Mike said: 'The doc and the tribute record certainly were, I guess, slight impetuses, if that's a word, for us to do more things. I think the strongest impetus was the fact that that Rogers Communications, which owns the Maple Leafs and the Blue Jays and the cable networks and stuff, used 'Lay It On The Line' in a TV commercial throughout all the Stanley Cup playoffs. It was like a hit record, and people discover were rediscovering TRIUMPH, including brand new fans. And you couldn't go anywhere without somebody singing the song behind you. They'd go, 'Oh, there's a guy from TRIUMPH. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 'Lay It On The Line', man.' And so that kind of had some influence. And Live Nation started to talk to us about maybe doing something. And as far as [fellow Canadian rock legends] RUSH [reuniting for a tour] was concerned, they contemplated their return a long time ago, and we didn't even know about it while we were talking about what we were gonna do. So, we sat down and talked it out and said, 'Okay, let's toss the coin and do it.'"

Referencing the fact that TRIUMPH's reunion tour will also include Phil X, Fitz and Kerns, who previously played with Gil and Rik on June 6, 2025 at the Rogers Festival At The Final, a free outdoor concert in the ICE District ahead of Game 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Emmett said: "We're not just going do this on our own, first of all. We're gonna have three other musicians join us. And I think that that's gonna make it so that it's not just the good old TRIUMPH that's trying to see if they can survive this thing. It's gonna be a new thing, and there's an energy to that that excites me and makes me wanna be involved and make it happen. I mean, Gil pretty much touched on it, that there's these folks that it was the soundtrack of their lives, and now they're bringing their kids, and there's grandkids involved in this now. So yes, we're old. I think there's going to be a level of curiosity. 'Are they gonna drop dead when they're trying to actually make this happen? Will the flash pots go off and scare them that they're just gonna keel over?' But I feel safe."

Rik continued: "We played out in Edmonton. Gil and I went out there [and played with Phil X, Brent and Todd]. Mike didn't make it, but we went out there and it felt like it was fun. And I think at the bottom of it, all of this stuff that we're talking about, the songs and the big show and all the nostalgia of the three of us getting back together, really the bottom line has to be, well, yeah, but is it gonna be fun? And I think that's something that translates to the audience. I think they get a sense of, 'Look at these guys. They're just having the time of their lives. Yes, they're very old lives. They're in their seventh decade, eighth decade of life. Wow.' But if we're not gonna have fun with that, what's the point?"

Elaborating on what fans can expect from the upcoming TRIUMPH show, Rik said: "Yeah, well, we made it through three songs out there in Edmonton. So there's a little bit of a spine to build from. Of course, that wasn't with any production. We were just playing out — it was all these people that were outside the arena. It looked like a holding pen. And they were going crazy and it was fun, but it was like an outdoor show. What we're planning here is a much more intense, multi-leveled multimedia… There's going to be screens that are doing things at the same time that we're playing… Anyhow, we've got a lot of work ahead of us because there will be an intense period of trying to figure out what the script is for this thing. Then you get to the point where it's, like, well, now we're gonna have to go into the studio and the six of us are gonna have to be bashing away for a while. Then we're gonna have to go into an arena somewhere and set this thing up because it's a massive thing."

Asked if this will be the final set of shows TRIUMPH will ever play, Rik said: "Here's what's gonna happen. If the tickets go on sale and it's kind of stiffin', then we may not even make it up for these shows. If they go on sale and it does pretty good, obviously there's gonna be people like Live Nation and folks that'll be going, 'Hey, you wanna do some more?' At which point there will be discussions between the three of us as to how long this might infringe upon my desire to wanna be going on holidays. I will say this though — last night I was practicing guitar, and I looked at my watch and it was 12:30 at night. I usually go to bed by, like, 10:30, at that time. So I thought, 'Well, this is not so bad, really, is it?' Sitting up and playing guitar until all hours. So, I think that is a harbinger of that there might be a future here. I don't know how it'll compartmentalize and work out, but, yeah, I think it could extend. It seems like it's fun so far."

Formed in Mississauga in 1975, TRIUMPH rose from playing high school auditoriums and rock 'n' roll bars to selling out iconic arenas, from Toronto's famed Maple Leaf Gardens to Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. Their virtuosic musicianship, soaring vocals, and dazzling, high-production live shows helped define an era of arena rock. Blending hard rock power with progressive ambition, TRIUMPH has sold over 15 million albums worldwide and earned multiple gold and platinum certifications, building a global following through headline tours and landmark festival performances, including the 1983 US Festival before 500,000 fans. With hits like "Lay It on The Line", "Magic Power" and "Fight The Good Fight" — combined with pioneering stage productions featuring pyrotechnics, laser lighting, and theatrical flair — TRIUMPH became arena rock legends, securing a permanent place in Canadian and international rock history.

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, 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),and Canada's Walk Of Fame (2019).

2026 "Triumph 50th Anniversary" North American tour dates:

Canada

April 22 - Sault Ste. Marie, ON - GFL Memorial Gardens
April 24 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena
April 25 - Hamilton, ON - TD Coliseum
April 28 - Halifax, NS - Scotiabank Centre
April 29 - Moncton, NB - Avenir Centre
May 1 - Laval, QC - Place Bell (Montreal)
May 2 - Ottawa, ON - Canadian Tire Centre
May 5 - Winnipeg, MB - Canada Life Centre
May 7 - Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place
May 8 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome

United States

May 13 - Rosemont, IL - Rosemont Theatre (Chicago)
May 14 - Milwaukee, WI - Miller High Life Theatre
May 16 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
May 17 - St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
May 20 - Irving, TX - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory (Dallas)
May 21 - San Antonio, TX - Frost Bank Center
May 22 - Houston, TX - Smart Financial Center at Sugar Land
May 24 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
May 26 - Atlanta, GA - Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park
May 28 - Camden, NJ - Freedom Mortgage Pavilion (Philadelphia)
May 30 - Sterling Heights, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill (Detroit)
June 3 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Amphitheater
June 5 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell at Jones Beach Theater (New York)
June 6 - Boston, MA - Leader Bank Pavilion

Emmett, who quit TRIUMPH — acrimoniously, in 1988 — over music and business disputes, went on to pursue a solo career, while TRIUMPH carried on with future BON JOVI guitarist Phil X for one more album, 1992's "Edge Of Excess", before calling it a day the following year.

Emmett was estranged, both personally and professionally, from the two other members of the legendary Canadian classic rock power trio for 18 years before they repaired their relationship.

Rik's memoir, "Lay It On The Line - A Backstage Pass To Rock Star Adventure, Conflict And Triumph", came out in October 2023 via ECW Press.

Moore, Levine, and Emmett formed TRIUMPH in 1975, and their blend of heavy riff-rockers with progressive odysseys, peppered with thoughtful, inspiring lyrics and virtuosic guitar playing quickly made them a household name in Canada. Anthems like "Lay It On The Line", "Magic Power" and "Fight The Good Fight" broke them in the USA, and they amassed a legion of fiercely passionate fans. But, as a band that suddenly split at the zenith of their popularity, TRIUMPH missed out on an opportunity to say thank you to those loyal and devoted fans, a base that is still active today, three decades later.

After 20 years apart, Emmett, Levine and Moore played at the 2008 editions of the Sweden Rock Festival and Rocklahoma. A DVD of the historic Sweden performance was made available four years later.