WARREN, OHIO – Donnie Iris & the Cruisers will be coming to the Robins Theatre Saturday, May 7, 2022 at 8 p.m. Doors will open at 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh icon Donnie Iris’s 40-year musical career began and continues to thrive from the Pittsburgh suburb of Beaver Falls. His songs include the 1970s hit “The Rapper,” which he wrote and sang as a member of the Jaggerz, to 1980s hits “Ah! Leah!” and “Love Is Like A Rock” as front man of Donnie Iris and the Cruisers. The latter band’s albums include “Back on the Streets,” “King Cool,” “Fortune 410,” “Poletown” and “Elwood City,” as well as “Ah! Live!,” a compilation of live recordings of some of their biggest hits and “Ah! Leluiah!,” a Christmas album.
Tickets will range between $45 and $25 plus applicable fees. All tickets are reserved seating.
Tickets will go on sale on Friday, March 4 at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available for purchase at www.robinstheatre.com and at the Robins Theatre Box Office located at 160 E. Market St., Warren, Ohio. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
There will be a presale on Thursday, March 3 at 10 a.m. This presale is accessible to “Friends of the Robins Theatre” only. Information regarding “Friends of the Robins Theatre” memberships can be found at www.robinstheatre.com and at the Robins Theatre Box Office.
Donnie Iris found his early successes in the industry while performing with The Jaggerz and Wild Cherry. While with Wild Cherry in the late 1970s Donnie Iris found his identity as such, after performing under his birth name Dominic Lerace for the earlier part of his career. Struggling to build off the success of “Play that Funky Music,” Wild Cherry would break up in 1979.
Nevertheless, Iris had already sunk his teeth into another project with fellow bandmate Mark Avsec. Their first release saw the disco-influenced single “Bring on the Eighties” backed by a cover of “Because of You” in 1979; however, it failed to garner attention. Iris and Avsec decided to go in a harder direction for their next release and returned to the studio with guitarist Marty Lee Hoenes, bassist Albritton McClain and drummer Kevin Valentine, who at the time was in the band Breathless with Avsec, to record his first full-length album. This line-up would form what would become known as Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.
Iris released his first album in July of 1980, titled “Back on The Streets” through Midwest Records based out of Cleveland, Ohio. Thanks to the track “Ah! Leah!” receiving attention through airplay in Boston, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, MCA Records took notice and signed Iris to a five-album deal before rereleasing the album nationally in October that year. Since then, Donnie Iris & The Cruisers have gone through changes in lineups, but have continued on, releasing eleven studio albums, one EP, two live albums, and two compilation albums. He continues to sporadically release new material and tour throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio.