During a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk“, Triumph members Rik Emmett and Gil Moore discussed the massive success of their 2026 reunion tour, marking the legendary Canadian rock band’s first major trek in over 30 years.
To pull off the 50th-anniversary run, original members Emmett (vocals/guitar) and Moore (drums/vocals) expanded the group into a five-piece lineup. They are currently joined on the road by guitarist Phil X (real name Theofilos Xenidis of Bon Jovi), alongside drummer and keyboardist Brent Fitz and bassist Todd Kerns (both from Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators). Original bassist Mike Levine has stepped back from the majority of the tour after revealing in December that a hand issue was preventing him from playing at his usual standard.
When asked how the tour has gone so far, Emmett admitted the duo initially had their reservations about the ambitious undertaking.
“It’s going great. It’s been a tremendous surprise to Gil and I that it’s gone as good as it has, because we were both a little skeptical coming in,” Emmett explained (via Blabbermouth). “We’re a couple of old farts, so we weren’t sure that the young guys were gonna be able to carry us, but it’s worked. It’s worked a charm.”
Moore echoed his bandmate’s enthusiasm, noting the overwhelming crowd response they have received night after night.
“When we finally made the decision to do it, it was just kind of like jumping in the swimming pool. There’s no real preparation for it when you haven’t done it for a while,” Moore added. “I shouldn’t say that — I mean, I practiced like crazy to get ready, both singing and drumming — but I guess what I mean is you’re not prepared mentally for something you haven’t done for a long while. But it’s been a great surprise. It’s been a blast, and playing every night has been fantastic. The audiences have been outrageously good. Yeah, it couldn’t have worked out better if we scripted it.”
The expanded roster has allowed the band to tackle their classic material with renewed energy, with Emmett praising the new musicians for elevating the live performances.
“Just like Gil said about jumping in the pool, you get in there and then you realize these other guys that you’re swimming with, they’re old pros and they’re really good at it,” Emmett stated. “And this reinvention, this reloading of Triumph is a thing where we picked up these guys that can sing harmonies, but they can be rock stars and they can play guitar solos that are light years beyond me. And I go, ‘Well, that’s okay. That’s great.’ There’s a respect that exists between us that has sort of made the band a stronger entity than it ever was.”
Despite the chemistry on stage, the absence of Levine remains a bittersweet reality for the founding members. However, Moore offered fans a positive update regarding his health.
“I talked to him for a long time on his birthday. He’s doing better. He’s been out and around. He’s getting out of the house and so on, but he’s still got some physio that he’s working on, so it wouldn’t have been a wise idea to have him over the cumbersome things, like airports and stages and all that sort of stuff. So we had hoped he was gonna make it for some of this tour. It turns out he hasn’t, but there’s always tomorrow,” he detailed.
With the current tour leg scheduled to wrap up on June 10 in Laval, Quebec, the pair did not rule out the possibility of booking more dates in the future.
“I told everybody that I wanted to get to the end of this and then just sort of see how my body was and mentally where I’m at,” Emmett shared. “But I sat down at breakfast with Gil about a week ago and I said, ‘Look, I’m feeling really good. And I’m so psychologically pumped by all of this that I can’t see myself saying no. But I still don’t wanna say yes yet.’ I wanna see… Yeah, let’s ask Live Nation for a raise.”
Emmett also noted that if they do continue past this run, integrating Levine back into the live show in some capacity would be a primary goal.
“Even if he only could sit at a keyboard and play some… ‘Cause he used to do that for us. So, whatever. That would be a pretty sweet thing and a nice reason to come into your neck of the woods and play some gigs.” he concluded.
Triumph kicked off their 2026 North American tour, featuring support from April Wine, on April 10 in Orlando, Florida.
This reunion trek follows a massive year of accolades for the group. In June 2025, they were celebrated with Magic Power: All-Star Tribute To Triumph, a 15-track tribute album featuring prominent artists like Sebastian Bach, Slash, Nancy Wilson, Joey Belladonna, Dee Snider, Lawrence Gowan, Deen Castronovo, Alex Lifeson, Jeff Keith, and Mickey Thomas. The project was helmed by renowned producer Mike Clink (Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe, Whitesnake). Adding to their storied legacy, Triumph was also recently inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame.
