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I Never Thought This Would Happen: Triumph/April Wine Concert Review
- Date Of Concert: Saturday, May 30th, 2026
- Location of Concert: Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre At Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights, MI
Like I said in the title, I never thought this would happen.
What do I mean? The idea that the band Triumph would ever reunite and tour again.
Even last year, it was not happening and never going to.
They had their great run in the 70s and 80s, and aside from a few things since then (an album and brief tour in the early 90s, two shows in 08, one small show for hardcore fans for the band’s documentary, and one song for one of co-singer/guitarist Rik Emmett’s solo albums) Triumph were over.
Whenever asked, Rik, co-singer/drummer Gil Moore and bassist Mike Levine would always say it was never going to happen.
Well, in late 2025, it was announced that Triumph was reuniting for a tour with fellow Canadian band April Wine opening.
Although Triumph was reuniting, it would only be Rik and Gil (Mike as of this writing has not appeared at any of the shows due to health reasons. Take care!!), and they added some members to help fill out the sound and to help the guys enhance the show.
They brought in Phil X (guitar/vocals, who also was in Triumph during their brief 90s run) to play second guitar with Rik and to sing too.
Via Phil’s recommendation, the band brought in Todd Kerns (bass/vocals) and Brent Fitz (drums/vocals).
I know Rik and Gil had their doubts and fears as to whether or not they could pull this off again after so many years, but trust me, they more than pull it off.
They definitely tuned down so Rik would not have to sing as many high notes, but he still has a great voice and range. And his guitar playing is still out of this world.
Gil’s voice is as great as ever and he still plays drums great.
But having Phil, Todd, and Brent has enhanced the show experience.
They now have more vocal harmonies, lead and rhythm guitars, and two drummers. Gil even sometimes steps out front and sings while Brent plays drums on his own. Other songs Gil plays drums and Brent plays keyboards.
The show has great visuals, which Triumph has always been about. Visuals on the screens and some pyro too.
The band, especially, Rik, seem very happy and are having the time of their life on this tour.
Rik even said during this show that before this tour that he was content being home sitting on the coach with his five cats and enjoying retirement. But he is now really glad this is happening and is feeling beyond blessed to be rocking again.
Their show is incredible!!!
The songs are great!!!
The singing/musicianship are phenomenal!!!!
This tour has been doing really well. This show was sold out!!
The amphitheatre was nice with really good sound.
Oh and let’s not forget about April Wine, who opened the show with a really good set of songs.
April Wine includes classic member Brian Greenway (guitar/lead vocals), as well as Marc Parent (lead vocals/guitar), Richard Lanthier (bass/backing vocals), and Roy Nichol (drums/percussion/backing vocals). They sounded really good too.
I could go on and on about this, but I’ll just end by saying never say never about anything.
I NEVER thought Triumph would reunite.
Triumph did not know that Triumph was going to reunite until they did.
Gil said during the initial press for this reunion that after saying no so many times that this one time they finally decided to say yes.
And they are really rocking again, which is a beautiful thing.
I’m glad they are back!! Thank you guys for everything.
Another huge bucket list show for me.
Now I hope they make more music.
Love you all and rock on!!
Triumph Set List:
- When The Lights Go Down
- Somebody’s Out There
- Spellbound
- Hold On
- Allied Forces
- Blinding Light Show
- Rock & Roll Machine
- Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh cover)
- Never Surrender
- Lay It On The Line
- 24 Hours A Day (Intro)/Follow Your Heart
- Magic Power
- Encore: I Live For The Weekend
- Fight The Good Fight
April Wine Set List:
- I Like To Rock
- Anything You Want, You Got It
- All Over Town
- Say Hello
- Enough Is Enough
- Before The Dawn
- You Could’ve Been A Lady (Hot Chocolate Cover)
- Just Between You And Me
- Sign Of The Gypsy Queen (Lorence Hud cover)
- Roller
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
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Thank You Angel and Starz for the Music and Your Kindness!!
- Date of concert: Friday, May 29th, 2026
- Location of Concert: The Winchester in Lakewood, OH
I went to see two of my favorite bands, Angel and Starz, at a club/bar in Lakewood, Ohio called The Winchester.
This was the 4th time I had seen Angel, but the first time I saw Starz.
Starz usually do not play anywhere near me, so going to this show was a must for me. To see both bands in one night is a dream bill for me.
Before the show, however, I met Angel for the 3rd time at a paid meet and greet. They signed a few more of my records (they signed more things the last two times I met them so I have a lot of CDs and records signed by them now) and I got my picture taken with them again.
They are all very nice people, and guitarists Punky Meadows and Danny Farrow Anniello called me by name (I’m friends with them on Facebook, along with singer Frank Dimino and classic bassist Felix Robinson.).
I am forever an Angel fan. I love all of their albums and are a great live band. They are currently on a “Farewell Tour”, but they still have a new album coming, as well as a documentary.
I hope this was not the last time I meet Angel (I’d like to get more of my collection signed. Please?!), but if it was, I just want to thank them again for the music and for their kindness. I love you guys. Punky said they love me too, and I’m forever grateful that they care about their fans.
After this, I went to meet original Starz members Richie Ranno (guitar) and Joe X. Dube (drums) at their table. They just meet fans for free!! Both were extremely nice and personable. I brought all the Starz CD booklets and a DVD sleeve, (I bought all of these from Richie on their website.) and when I told them they didn’t have to sign everything if they didn’t want to, Richie said in a very cool and calm way “what else am I gonna do?”
Again, both were extremely kind and signed everything I had and I had my picture taken with both of them.
Like with Angel, I love Starz also and am glad I got this opportunity to meet them too.
Now to the actual concert.
Starz started the night with a really good set of various tunes from their earlier albums.
When they came onstage, Joe gave me another handshake and I told him to have a great show!! And he and the band did.
Like I said, Richie (guitar) and Joe (drums) are the original members.
The rest of the band includes Doug Palmer (vocals, thanks for the fist bump on stage!!), Jason Draven (guitar), and Chris Tristrum on bass.
Richie also told some stories. He talked about how he got a call from KISS’ management Rock Steady about doing an audition for what would become Starz (Fallen Angel at the time). He talked about how one time he and Joe, through another mutual KISS connection Sean Delaney, met Elton John!! Richie said Elton told them he liked their band and had bought their album himself!! Great stuff.
Like Angel, I think Starz should be a HUGE band, but for some reason, they only were ever a cult favorite.
They were signed to KISS’ management, had Aerosmith’s producer Jack Douglas (RIP) produce their first two albums, had great songs, great singing and playing, they had it all.
But regardless, Starz made their mark and luckily still are around.
I hope they will make more music someday because this band still rocks with the best of them.
Richie told me before the show that they were going to make the night feel like a 70s rock show. And they did!!
Starz rules!!
Angel headlined, and as always, they really rocked.
Singer Frank Dimino is as great as ever, Punky Meadows (one of my favorite guitarists ever and such a cool guy) and Danny Farrow Anniello make an awesome guitar team, fill-in bassist Johnny Leigh (Bassist Tommy Caradonna has been sitting out some dates for some personal reasons. All the best.), drummer Billy Orrico is a beast, and keyboardist Charlie Calv is a great talent also.
I hope this was not the last time I saw Angel, but if it was, it was another phenomenal show from one of my favorite bands.
And like I said about Starz, I wish Angel were HUGE. They are to me.
Such a great show all around
And it was sold out too, which was great.
Thank you all for everything.
P.S. I know some of these pictures look pixelated, but trust me, they are not that way. For some reason, they recently started showing up this way on the website. I’m trying to figure out why. Either way, for anyone who sees these posts, I hope this does not take away the fact I love doing this and love documenting these great happenings in my otherwise normally boring and frankly not very exciting life. I make no money doing this and it’s really a passion project for me. But for anyone who sees this post or any of my others and likes it, I thank you.
Starz Set List:
- Detroit Girls
- Tear It Down
- Live Wire
- (She’s Just A) Fallen Angel
- Monkey Business
- Night Crawler
- Last Night I Wrote A Letter
- Cherry Baby
- Pull The Plug
- Coliseum Rock/It’s A Riot/Boys In Action
Angel Set List:
- On The Rocks
- Can You Feel It
- Mirrors
- Wild And Hot
- Bad Time
- The Fortune
- We Were The Wild
- Got Love If You Want It
- Don’t Leave Me Lonely
- Telephone Exchange
- Pressure Point
- Feelin’ Right
- Rock N Rollers
- Tower
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
