Canadian rock trio Triumph — who became a major San Antonio draw after playing one of its first U.S. shows here — is hitting the road for its first tour in 30 years, the band revealed Tuesday.
And, yes, the Triumph 50th Anniversary Tour includes an Alamo City stop: Thursday, May 21, 2026, at the Frost Bank Center. Fellow Canadian hard rockers April Wine, another favorite from SA’s heyday as the “Heavy Metal Capital of the World,” will open.
While Triumph became an arena rock staple in the ’80s thanks to ubiquitous hits including “Magic Power” and “Lay It on the Line,” San Antonio was among the first radio markets to latch onto the band, and it played one of its first U.S. concerts here in 1977.
“Our fans have always been the heart of Triumph. Their energy, their belief, and the way they embraced the positivity in our music have carried us for 50 years,” Triumph said in an emailed statement about the tour.
“We’ve always said these songs were meant to bring people together — and that’s exactly why we’re coming back now. We knew there was still a chapter left to write. This tour is our chance to do it, together with the people who made the Triumph journey possible.”
General tickets for the San Antonio show go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 12 at the Frost Bank Center and Ticketmaster websites. Those who sign up for Frost Bank Center’s All Access Newsletter and select the “Rock” genre can access early tickets.
Formed in 1975, Triumph — comprised of Rik Emmett (guitar, vocals), Mike Levine (bass, keyboards) and Gil Moore (drums, vocals) — jumped from working as a Canadian bar band to major concert draw as fans embraced the trio’s blend of virtuoso musicianship, soaring vocals and radio-ready hooks.
San Antonio’s KISS-FM — also instrumental in breaking heavy rock and metal acts including Judas Priest, Rush and the Scorpions here before they found a U.S. foothold — was an early champion, putting the group into heavy rotation from its first album onward.
“Those early days were historical in San Antonio. The bands that were around then — that are still around, as well as Triumph — have some historical significance,” Triumph bassist Levine told the Current in a 2022 interview. “We have a song on the first album called ‘The Blinding Light Show.’ It was like eight minutes long and [KISS] played the shit out of it. Nobody played eight-minute songs on radio. Ever!”
Beyond that, KISS helped bring Triumph to San Antonio’s Municipal Auditorium for one its first U.S. shows. Lou Roney, a former DJ for the station, even pretended he was an immigration lawyer so he could win a judge’s approval for last-minute work papers the band needed to perform in the U.S.
Levine told the Current that the members of Triumph, who’d seldom played anything but club dates at that point, were terrified take the stage at the 6,000-seat Municipal. Especially because they’d gotten word that record label personnel and industry powerhouse Cliff Bernstein of Mercury Records were in attendance.
“But when we walked onstage — the roar from the crowd — we just looked at each other like, ‘Holy shit!’” Levine said. “Everybody’s standing up. The balcony looked like it was actually moving with the crowd. We looked at each other and went, ‘Hmm, this might be pretty cool.’ Away went the fear. And we played with ultimate confidence from pretty much the first note. It showed us that we could play a big stage and turn an audience on.”
Ticket price unavailable, 8 p.m. Thursday, May 21, Frost Bank Center, 1 Frost Bank Center Drive, (210) 440-5000, frostbankcenter.com.
Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
Related Stories
The band is the subject of the forthcoming documentary Triumph: Rock And Roll Machine, which will receive its U.S. debut on May 13.
Source
