Triumph’s Rik Emmett explained why he changed his mind about touring again with the band after previously saying a reunion was a non-starter, in comments shared via Talkin’ Bout Rock.
Emmett addressed people’s reactions to what they see as a contradiction between his past statements against touring with Triumph and his current involvement in reunion plans. He talked about how the decision came about gradually, through a series of events and conversations with management.
“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,'” Emmett said.
He explained that his previous position was genuine at the time. “Honestly, I don’t mind [when people call me out for previously being against touring with Triumph again]. 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?'”
Emmett described how management began proposing various scenarios that gradually drew him toward touring. “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.”
“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.'”
Emmett made these comments while discussing Triumph’s reunion tour plans.
The gradual process Emmett described aligns with years of separation and recent reconnection. Emmett left Triumph in 1988 and remained estranged from the other band members for 18 years before they reconnected at an invite-only event in November 2019 at MetalWorks studio in Mississauga. The band’s last major public performance had been July 11, 2008 at the Rocklahoma Festival.
Key momentum for the reunion came on October 17, 2025, when the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted Rik Emmett, Mike Levine, Gil Moore of Triumph, Andy Kim, Jane Siberry, Ian Thomas and Gino Vannelli at Toronto’s Meridian Arts Centre. That same year, in June 2025, Triumph reunited for a special three-song set at Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers, sharing the bill with the Glorious Sons.
Triumph launched their first major tour in 38 years on April 10, 2026, at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida. The expanded lineup features drummer Brent Fitz, bassist Todd Kerns and guitarist Phil X alongside the original members, with Fitz and Kerns both longtime members of Slash’s solo band, while X currently plays with Bon Jovi and had worked with Triumph in the early 1990s. Mike Levine was absent from the tour due to health issues.
Emmett addressed physical challenges that required the band to build what he called a safety net around the touring operation. He described having arthritis in his neck, back, wrists and fingers, and noted that there are certain notes he cannot hit anymore. Todd Kerns, a musician from Saskatchewan who has toured with Slash and Alice Cooper, handles some of the vocal and instrumental duties to accommodate these limitations.
Before the reunion materialized, Emmett had told Music Life Magazine in 2019 that he was done as a road warrior, saying he was burned out. At age 72, he described his reunion opportunity as a choice between being afraid of it or embracing it. The tour has been running strong for nearly two months, with Emmett expressing that the response has ranged from overwhelming to joyful celebrations with the new band members.
