A Triumphant Return: Reviewing Triumph and April Wine’s Historic 2026 Tour Stop at Jones Beach

Tour photo provided courtesy of Live Nation & Triumph

Living just a few miles away in Long Beach, heading to Jones Beach for a summer concert is a regular occurrence for our household. But tonight’s show at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater was anything but a standard summer gig. For the first time in 30 years, Canadian arena rock legends Triumph took the stage as part of their massive 50th Anniversary North American Tour.

Setting the tone for the evening was fellow Canadian hard rock institution **April Wine**. With a legacy spanning over five decades, the band proved to be the ideal pairing for this celebratory rock showcase. Despite the tragic passing of founding frontman Myles Goodwyn late in 2023, the current lineup — anchored by longtime vocalist/guitarist Brian Greenway and current lead vocalist Marc Parent — honored the band’s storied catalog with reverence and impressive, high-energy musicianship. Delivering tight, crowd-pleasing renditions of classic rock radio staples like “Roller,” “Sign of the Gypsy Queen,” “I Like to Rock,” and the MTV-era power ballad “Just Between You and Me,” April Wine successfully primed the amphitheater audience for the arena rock spectacle to follow.

When **Triumph* took the stage — featuring Rik Emmett (guitar, vocals) and Gil Moore (drums, vocals), as supplemented by notable additional musicians Phil X (Bon Jovi), Brent Fitz (Gene Simmons) and Todd Kerns (Slash), with original bassist Mike Levine sadly missing in action — they proved exactly why they were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame late last year. From virtuosic musicianship to the pioneering stagecraft that made them famous in the 1980s (including lasers and pyrotechnics), they delivered a setlist packed with anthems like “Lay It on the Line,” “Magic Power,” and “Fight the Good Fight.” I had the pleasure of interviewing Rik Emmett last year about his book Ten Telecaster Tales*, and it was incredible to see that same passion translate back to the live arena (or rather, amphitheater) tonight.

The band’s legacy has been front and center lately, particularly with the 2025 release of Magic Power: All-Star Tribute to Triumph, which featured heavy hitters like Slash, Sebastian Bach, Heart;s Nancy Wilson, Styx’s Lawrence Gowan, Starship’s Mickey Thomas, Tesla’s Jeff Keith and Dee Snider. (As a fun aside, I’ve previously featured Triumph in past Paltrobox holiday roundups, so seeing them live feels like a full-circle moment). With their tour officially wrapping up tomorrow night, June 6th, in Boston, getting to witness the penultimate show of this historic run was a definite highlight of the year.

More photos here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZOn9-1gKTm/?img_index=1

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Looking Ahead: The 2026 Jones Beach Summer Concert Season

Tonight’s historic Triumph set officially kicks my summer concert season into high gear. If you look at the upcoming calendar for Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, 2026 is shaping up to be an absolute monster of a summer for live music; and the Paltrocast has been blessed to have hosted many of these artists on the series.

For rock, alternative, and metal fans, the amphitheater will host heavy-hitting sets from Breaking Benjamin, Staind, Seether, Chevelle, and Godsmack. We’ll also see Lamb of God, Black Label Society, Down, Five Finger Death Punch, Hinder, Stone Temple Pilots, and Dorothy. If you prefer your rock with a bit more of a groove, the lineup brings in 311, Dirty Heads, Rome, Ocean Alley, O.A.R., Robert Randolph, and hometown heroes Taking Back Sunday.

The classic rock and pop-legacy schedule is equally stacked. Expect legendary performances from Styx, Foreigner, Chicago, Don Felder, Deep Purple, Kansas, Toto, The Guess Who, Santana, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and The Beach Boys. Singer-songwriter and roots icons will also be making their way to the water, including John Fogerty (whose CCR legacy I have discussed with Stu Cook and Doug Clifford), John Mellencamp (whose longtime drummer Kenny Aronoff is a past guest), James Taylor (featuring collaborator Larry Goldings), Richard Marx (featuring bassist Whynot Jansveld), Willie Nelson (a friend of the late Kinky Friedman), Don Was, and the Jimmy Buffett-tribute Coral Reefer Band featuring Scotty Emerick (who notably once wrote a song with David Lee Roth).

Rounding out the incredibly diverse summer are top-tier acts spanning everything from 80s icons like Wang Chung, The English Beat, Howard Jones, and Modern English, to pop/R&B hitmakers like En Vogue. Add in country star Jason Aldean, the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, pop-rock favorites Train and Barenaked Ladies, the smooth sounds of Christopher Cross and Yacht Rock Revue, and unique performers like Lindsey Stirling, Marty Stuart, KT Tunstall, and Steve Winwood (who I have discussed with his daughter Lilly Winwood), and there is absolutely no shortage of reasons to head down to the beach this summer.

More on this year’s Jones Beach concert schedule can be found here.

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