It’s possible to count all the great Canadian rock bands on one hand (well, OK, maybe two hands).
Right up there with a massive digit of its own is Triumph, whose guitar-based, neo-progressive and anthemic rock emerged from Toronto in the mid 1970s. In the power trio’s homeland, and in the United States, well over a dozen Triumph albums went gold and/or platinum.
(Classic rock fans will likely have Rock & Roll Machine, Just a Game, Allied Forces or Thunder Seven in their collection somewhere.)
Rik Emmett (guitar and lead vocals), Gil Moore (drums) and Mike Levine (bass, keyboards) were a top-tier arena act for decades, before splitting at the beginning of the 1990s.
The threesome reunited for the odd festival gig here and there. But it was the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs that ignited this full-fledged tour. Triumph’s iconic “Lay it On the Line” was used as the official song and rallying cry for the finals between the Houston Oilers and the (ultimately victorious) Florida Panthers.
Triumph played a three-song set June 6 before Game 6 in Edmonton, Alberta. And it went so well that Live Nation approached the three musicians about mounting a world tour in celebration of Triumph’s 50th anniversary.
And that tour arrives at Tampa’s Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre Saturday (tickets are at this link).
The Catalyst spoke with drummer Moore, who explained that bass/keys guy Levine, who was primed and ready to take part in this series of triumphant concerts, is staying at home – doctor’s orders.
St. Pete Catalyst: So Mike’s not playing these shows?
Gil Moore: We were hoping to have Mike, obviously, and he was hoping to be here. But he’s not well enough to be out. But, you know, there’s still more shows left on the tour. We’re still hoping that he might get a sign-off, and he’ll get out here and help us out. If not, we’re still staying in touch with him and wishing him all the best health-wise. And he’s cheering from the bleachers for the band. Obviously he’s still one of us, spiritually and musically and every other way. But there’s five of us onstage every night, unless Mike makes it out, in which case we’d have six.
Who are the other guys?
So Rik and I are there on the tour, and Mike’s not. But Todd Kearns is filling in for Mike. And we have (drummer) Brent Fitz as well, who plays a lot with Todd. They play in Slash’s band together. And they played on our tribute album (Magic Power: All-Star Tribute to Triumph), with (guitarist) Phil X.
And of course Phil X was in Triumph – he replaced Rik in 1990. So Phil’s back with us. He still plays with Bon Jovi, of course.
So it’s Phil, Todd, Brent, and myself and Rik.
It really is great, because everyone in the band is a lead singer. So that’s a very rare situation to have. So there’s a lot of vocal horsepower that really we didn’t have back in the day.
A lot of our songs were written with two guitar parts, even three, so having Phil onstage with Rik, oh man, that’s a double-barrel shotgun from the word go.
And I’ll tell ya, double drummers is a blast. When Brent and I get going full steam ahead with those two drum kits, it’s like a herd of rhinoceroses coming through the amphitheater.
The tour’s been in the States for a while now. How are the American audiences with Triumph?
They’ve been absolutely wild. If you look online at the socials, you’ll see that everyone’s standing, and cheering, and going nuts like they were all 18 years old. It’s crazy, looking out from the stage, it really is. The excitement in the audience is phenomenal.
Rush grew to be mega-successful in America. Inevitably, Triumph will get compared to Rush. Did you ever have any kind of relationship with those guys?
Yeah, I know them all. Alex is a close friend of mine. Through golf, really. Alex is a golf nut, and I’m a golf nut, so we share a lot of love on the golf course together. I’m very proud of those guys as Canadians. Their work ethic is second to none. And they’re one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
It’s a shame that Neil passed before his time. He was a very gentle soul. Very nice man. They’ve recorded at my studio, Metalworks in Toronto, so I know them well. And I’m real excited that they’re going out; their tour is going to be massive.
Did you ever feel that Triumph was in competition with Rush in any way, shape or form?
[Laughter] I think in the minds of the public, maybe. But not in our minds. The comparison I think started for three reasons: One, we started at the same time. Rush was just six months ahead of Triumph, I would say. Number two, Rik has a high voice, and Ged has a high voice. And the other thing I think is being three-piece, a power trio. And of course, both from the same city. So maybe there’s four or five things that kinda line up.
No, because they had that six-month gap, they opened some doors for us. And in America, I think some audiences were more open to the idea of these three guys from the Great White North: ‘Let’s pay attention, because we like Rush, maybe these guys’ll be OK as well.’
If you’re going to be compared to a band, that’s a good one to be compared to. That’s all I can say! I just feel very lucky that America opened their arms to Triumph.
Since Metalworks has been so successful, with all sorts of well-known artists recording there, why do you want to go out on the road again? You’ve got this really nice gig at home in Toronto.
For me, it’s about my kids. They are so excited. My wife is very excited too. Getting to see them get so jazzed by the whole thing.
Another thing, I love the musicians in this band, and Rik and I are kind of in seventh heaven with the blend that we have right now, the musicianship that we have onstage. And the camaraderie we have in the dressing room is unbelievable. We’re just having a blast.
It’s just crazy how the whole thing came together. I mean, I said I wasn’t going to do this, for decades. And I was not lying.
You know that old joke, ‘Slowly I turned, step by step, inch by inch …? Niagara Falls!’ It was kinda like that. We finally fell over the falls. It was unintentional, but we went over the falls in a barrel, and we survived. And here we are.