Thousands of Canadians to Join in Triumph's 'Hold On' As a Cross-Country Sing-Along to Celebrate Music Education

"Hold On," one of the biggest hits of Canadian Music Hall of Famers Triumph, will gain fresh life from being chosen as the anthem for Music Monday 2025.

On May 5, 2025 Coalition for Music Education will celebrate Music Monday with a cross-country sing-along to raise awareness for music education. This annual event celebrates the unifying power of music as thousands of Canadians join in singing and performing its anthem at their schools and other community events.

"We wanted to celebrate homegrown talent and Triumph’s 'Hold On' was a natural choice because of its powerful message of a belief in our own resiliency," says Stacey Sinclair, Coalition for Music Education in Canada Executive Director, in a statement. "The soaring melody, heartfelt lyrics and emotional resonance mirror the galvanizing need for support and connection which is at the heart of this nationwide celebration of the impact of music education in our schools and communities."

Released in June 1979, "Hold On," which went to No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100, was actually the first charting singles for the internationally popular rock band, and it remains one of their best-loved songs.

Triumph vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Rik Emmett explains that “The song 'Hold On' was a tipping point for me as a recording artist: I felt I'd finally come up with a song that spoke directly to why the band I was in called itself Triumph. We were going to be a band about positivity, motivation and inspiration: long before self-help was even a thing, and this song was a catalyst for all that we went on to accomplish.”

Gil Moore, Triumph drummer and co-vocalist and founder Metalworks Studios, Metalworks Institute and SoundsUnite adds that “Mike [Levine], Rik and I are honoured that 'Hold On' is this year's signature song, featuring Rik's new collaborative recording of the song based on a poem he composed back in his high school days."

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the music of Triumph, fuelled in part by the 2022 Banger Films documentary, Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine.

The annual Music Monday event is the signature program of The Coalition for Music Education in Canada, Since its inception in 2005, Music Monday has impacted millions of students and teachers across Canada who take their music programs into their communities to perform the same song on the same day, at the same time, uniting the entire country in song.

Past years’ songs have been composed by Luke Doucet, Serena Ryder, Dala, Chris Tait (Chalk Circle), Chris Hadfield with Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies, Connor Ross and legendary Canadian singer songwriters Marc Jordan and Ian Thomas.

Registration for Music Monday is free and provides access to teacher resources, numerous audio and video recordings, arrangements, lyric sheets, sing-along video and an Artist Guide & Learning Guide. Registered participants also receive access to numerous online music education sessions released on Music Monday.

Participants are invited to register their events for free at musicmonday.ca. For more information, visit coalitioncanada.ca