Triumph has announced a 50th anniversary tour. I caught up with Rik Emmett, Mike Levine, and Gil Moore to talk about the tour and more. Out of the gate, Mike jokingly said they started the band at 5 years old, so they’re not that old. That brought us to discussing the band’s start. Specifically, the fact that they had a record contract before the band actually existed. Rik credited Mike for that feat. Rik told the story of their initial meeting and the invitation from Mike and Gil to see what would happen if they played together. Rik recalled that Mike even brought the check from the record company along when he and Gil made that invite.
As the story unfolded, Rik mentioned that Mike and Gil had the band name picked out and had a lot of promotional posters all set to go. Asked about how the first jam went and if they could tell they had something, Gil commented, “I think it was pretty instantaneous. We went at it pretty hard, and before we knew it, we were all grinning.” Rik added that “These were the smartest guys I’d ever been in a room with, in terms of musicians.”
The band’s big break came when Sammy Hagar canceled a show he had in San Antonio, Texas. Triumph was tapped to headline in his absence because our sister station, KISS, was playing Triumph on the radio. Gil describes it as being like the Beverly Hillbillies with all the gear and went on to say, “We were not ready for prime time by any means.”
From that start in the states in San Antonio to the dare I say it, “Triumphant” performance at The US Festival, was just over five years. It was a quick rise. In that part of our conversation, Rik brought up that they were recently inducted into the Canadian Songwriting Hall of Fame. That’s when he explained that yes, it was a “Meteoric, rollercoaster, rocket ride” but they had these tunes. He rightfully attributes their success to the music they were writing and recording. Rik described a lot of their music as “Statement songs.” That brought us to the fact that “Lay It On The Line” became the theme song for the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup 2025 Playoffs.
I asked Gil about this quote about the band, “It situated Triumph as the good guys in an era that was meant for the dirtbags,” and, being that they had a different type of image than most hard rock and metal bands, did they feel they belonged? Gil responded that “I think we felt a kinship because of the music.” Somehow, that drifted to stories of Gil driving himself in his Cadillac on tour and some amusing things that happened because of that.
That brought us to discussing that tickets go on sale for this 50th anniversary tour on Friday, December 12, 2025. We also talked about some of the tour stops in San Antonio, Tampa, Atlanta, and Long Island. Keep an eye on the band’s website to see the entire tour.
When Mike and I had spoken a few months ago, he spoke about working on a show that would involve “Mixed reality.” He attributed that phrase to Gil. Gil described it as being “An immersive, experiential kind of stage environment.” It seems to be introducing virtual band members into a live stage show. Gil expressed that they are pretty excited about this and that people attending the shows will be getting something they aren’t expecting. There are “Some really cool ideas that are going to really surprise the audience”. It just adds a layer of possibilities and another dimension, let’s call it, to what’s going on on the stage.” Rik then confessed that they have not rehearsed any of this just yet.
We dove into what’s been happening with the band over the last few years, from the documentary to the tribute album to the tour. Following that path, the natural next question for me is, will there be new Triumph music? Gil said he was talking about it, but not with Mike and Rik. In fact, at this moment in time, it appeared to be the first time that the three band members had the conversation together. Rik did add, though, that the trajectory over the last few years was not a grand plan but something organic that was born from the response that they got at each step. He also expressed a fear of the physical toll of touring, or maybe he wasn’t really joking.
Of course, it was important that we also talked about the relationship Triumph has with its fans. Gil expressed how grateful they are to the fans and expressed a feeling that they want to give back to the people who have supported them.
We did speak about gear for the tour. That’s also when it was mentioned that aside from the three original members of the band that one one-time member of the band, guitarist Phil X, would be with them for the tour, as would drummer Brent Fitz.
We wrapped things up, telling some musician jokes and making tentative plans to get together while the band is on the road.
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