RIK EMMETT THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE Round Hill Records reissued 11 solo Rik recordings in the digital format – Ten Invitations (1998), Swing Shift (1998), Raw Quartet (1999), Live at Berklee (2000), Handiwork (2003), Good Faith (2003), Strung-Out Troubadours (2006), Live at Hugh’s Room (2007), Liberty Manifesto (2007), Push & Pull (2009), and Marco’s Secret Songbook (2012). Rik's latest release is the singer-songwriter acoustic project, Folk Songs for the Farewell Bonfire.   Retired from touring, he has just completed a manuscript of poetry – working title, Reinvention.  He works away in his home studio The Rockit Lab, capturing new singer-songwriter-guitarist material.   He also blogs regularly on his website's member forum, interacting with his fans and answering posts. HISTORY IN BRIEF After five decades in the biz, Rik Emmett has earned the adjectives ‘prolific’ and ‘eclectic’.  Following over a dozen platinum albums from his Triumph years, he’s produced 20 more as a non-platinum indie, ranging from rock and blues to jazz, folk & classical.  His last full-blown rock record RES 9 was released worldwide in 2016 on the MASCOT / PROVOGUE label.  His latest, entitled "Folk Songs for the Farewell Bonfire", referred to as The Bonfire Sessions,  includes 18 solo acoustic / vocal tracks, as well as 6 jazz guitar instrumentals, available exclusively as downloads off of www.rikemmett.com. International notoriety earned him entry into three Canadian Halls of Fame, and a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame.  He’s also  picked up a few ‘Best Guitarist’ awards from different organizations, in various style categories,  along the way. Author of a GUITAR PLAYER magazine column for over a dozen years, Mr. E. was also a music educator for a few decades on the heavily-respected Humber College faculty, where he taught Songwriting, Music Business and Directed Studies.  He’s also theArtistic Director Emeritus of the Songstudio Songwriting Workshop, which he launched with his pal Blair Packham 15 summers ago. HISTORY IN A BIT MORE DEPTH Rik Emmett gained international recognition as the lead singer/songwriter/guitarist with Triumph from 1975 to 1988. Five gold & platinum decades in the music biz provided entry into the Canadian Rock Hall of Fame, the Music Industry Hall of Fame, the Junos Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Walk of Fame.  with a few ‘Best Guitarist’ awards in various categories garnered along the way. Emmett morphed from Smooth Jazz awards in ’05 and ’07 to the worldwide release of a prog rock project called Airtime in ‘07, to a Latin / Mediterranean guitar trio project called ‘ Trifecta ‘ in 2009 (nominated for a Best Instrumental Juno).  The full-blown rock band project, RES 9, by Rik Emmett & RESolution9, was released worldwide by the MASCOT / PROVOGUE label in 2016.  His latest 2020 creative recording project is Folk Songs for the Farewell Bonfire, (The Bonfire Sessions) comprised of 18 solo acoustic / vocal tracks, as well as 6 jazz guitar instrumentals, available exclusively as downloads at www.rikemmett.com.   Searching backwards chronologically,  the 18th and 19th albums of his independent career (released through his website, www.rikemmett.com ) were “ Marco’s Secret Songbook ”, [2012] a concept album with 15 music tracks, a spoken word narrative & symphonic underscore:  and “ Then Again ”, [also 2012] an acoustic duo with Dave Dunlop, reworking the most popular Triumph repertoire with new arrangements. In 2011 “ reCOVERy Room 9 “ was released (also an acoustic duo with Dave Dunlop ), featuring nine cover songs from a wildly eclectic range of pop music.  Rik was a popular columnist for Guitar Player magazine (his 13 years of Back to Basics resulting in his published educational series, For The Love of Guitar), and an innovative music educator of long standing with Humber College in Toronto, and is the Artistic Director Emeritus of the annual Songstudio Songwriting Workshop. A guitar magazine once wrote that Rik Emmett was “… his own worst enemy ... one of the only guitarists out there who may be too talented for his own damn good”.  In a digital sound bite world, this offers insight on a music biz lifer, recognizing a unique artist, still going strong.   For 48 years, as his own worst enemy, Rik has made choices as a loyal friend to his gifts - never a slave to fashion.  Rik offers his best to every audience, of every stripe, in every piece of music that he performs, holding true to the magic power of the music.