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<\/a>We headed south toward the beautiful Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land to see two bands from north of the border \u2014 not the Texas\u2013Oklahoma line, but the one between the U.S. and Canada. For a Friday night, we expected traffic to be a mess, but it was surprisingly light. That only added to the anticipation of finally seeing two bands we\u2019d known for years but had never caught live.<\/p>\nWe made such good time that we stopped at one of our favorite BBQ spots, Rudy\u2019s, and split a jumbo baked potato big enough to feed four. With that handled, we rolled into SFC thinking I\u2019d be shooting the first three songs from the pit. Instead, I found out the photo location had been moved to front of house. After a quick gear shuffle, it turned out to be a blessing \u2014 the pit was jam\u2011packed with fans, and FOH gave us room to breathe.<\/p>\n
The band hit the stage earlier than expected and got right to it. Parent tossed out a \u201cCanada says hello Texas,\u201d which didn\u2019t quite land with the crowd, but the music absolutely did. Their ten\u2011song set opened with \u201cI Like to Rock,\u201d then moved through \u201cAnything You Want\u201d and \u201cAll Over Town,\u201d and wrapped with \u201cGypsy Queen\u201d and \u201cRoller.\u201d The audience reaction was strong and enthusiastic, and honestly, not surprising. These guys came ready to entertain, and for almost an hour, they did exactly that. They may not be the original lineup from \u201969, but they carried out the spirit and tradition of April Wine with real respect. Well done, gentlemen.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dwc-photography-16-2-300x261.jpg\")
<\/a>April Wine kicked things off. They\u2019re originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and their music goes all the way back to the late \u201960s. The longest\u2011tenured member on stage this night was Brian Greenway, who joined in 1977 and handled guitar and some vocals. Marc Parent is the lead singer these days, stepping in after Myles Goodwyn passed away in 2023.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Triumph was the reason the near\u2011sold\u2011out crowd showed up, though I\u2019m not sure it was really Triumph they came to see \u2014 it might have been Rik Emmett. At one point he joked that he might be the oldest person in the building (Rik, not even close). What he was, though, was the best guitarist I\u2019ve seen in a very long time, and I\u2019ve seen some good ones. This Toronto native is something special. He can absolutely tear up an electric guitar, one neck or two.\u00a0 Don Felder is terrific on \u201cHotel California,\u201d with his two-neck electric guitar however he might want to scoot over because Rik is coming through.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dwc-photography-45-300x240.jpg\")
<\/a>The peak of the night in my opinion was \u201cRock & Roll Machine,\u201d which included an intro of \u201cLittle Texas Shaker\u201d and a snippet of Led Zeppelin\u2019s \u201cBlack Dog.\u201d Neither was necessary \u2014 Rik standing center stage was more than enough. Watching him do what so few humans can do was a privilege. His playing blends rock, blues, jazz, classical, and bluegrass. And on top of that, he\u2019s a solid vocalist. In this reviewer\u2019s opinion, he IS Triumph.<\/p>\n