Rock with Donnie Iris as he celebrates the big 8-0

MOON TWP. – That amazing singing voice, and slender waistline, defy Father Time.

All right, what's Donnie Iris' secret for still looking and sounding so good?

Is it those stogies he smokes regularly in the Jergel's Rhythm Grille cigar lounge, or those weekly rounds of golf at the Beaver Valley Golf Club?

"I think it's a little combination of both," the Ellwood City native mirthfully says. "Seriously, I have no clue."

OK, "sometimes" he feels his age, he admits with a laugh, "But overall, I feel pretty good. I really do."

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Iris will feel extra adrenalized March 11 when he celebrates his 80th birthday by headlining UPMC Events Center in Moon Township. Tickets are $39.80 to $80.80 (notice the 80s?) at upmceventscenter.com.

Concert planned:Donnie Iris' 80th birthday concert set for Moon venue

Iris' trusty hit-making band The Cruisers will back him, including members traveling from California, North Carolina and Cleveland.

"We text and correspond a lot, but I don't get to see them all that often, so when I do it's just great," Iris said.

They'll treat their Moon audience to Iris & The Cruisers' Billboard Top-40 hits/Yinzer anthems "Ah! Leah!" and "Love is Like a Rock," plus radio tracks like "Agnes" and "That's The Way Love Oughta Be." Chart-topper "The Rapper," from Iris' days with Beaver County's The Jaggerz, popped up in the setlist of Iris & The Cruisers' 2018 and 2020 birthday concerts at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg, as well as a show-stopping "A Little Help from My Friends" by The Beatles.

For that first Palace show, Iris wore on stage the yellow jacket from his 1980 "Back on The Streets" debut album with the Cruisers recorded at Jeree Records in New Brighton.

"I can fit into the jacket, but not the pants," Iris said in an interview a week ago.

The popular Iris birthday bash concept now moves to the 4-year-old UPMC Events Center on the Robert Morris University campus, close to the rocker's home in Coraopolis.

From Club Cafe to PPG Paints Arena; Pittsburgh Winery to the former Palumbo Center, and now his new favorite haunt of Jergel's, Iris has been a fixture in local concert crowds, though he hasn't seen a show yet at UPMC Events Center, which adds to his excitement about headlining a place for which he's heard nothing but good things.

Iris suspects some sort of birthday surprise is being planned for him to catch him off guard and make him laugh. Maybe a cake with 80 candles wheeled onto the stage for an audience of up to 4,000 to sing along?

No matter what happens, "It's going to be fun, man," Iris, whose birthday actually is Feb. 28, says. "We've got The Vindys and The Clarks opening."

Led by powerhouse vocalist Jackie Popovec, The Vindys are Youngstown's breakout band that did a December show with Iris at Cleveland's MGM Northfield Park casino.

"They're so good. Wow, can she sing," Iris said. "She's a rock star."

And, of course, The Clarks and Iris go way back.

"They've been friends of mine for years, especially Rob (James) being from Beaver, we used to get together all the time. I saw The Clarks about a month ago at Jergel's. I see Scott (Blasey) all the time at those acoustic shows. He's really good. He'll do like an hour, and hour-15-minutes by himself. He tells stories. It's real entertaining."

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Iris and The Cruisers will be entertaining large crowds this year in Ohio, opening for classic rockers REO Speedwagon on June 21 at The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre, then warming up fans for Foreigner and Loverboy on July 24 at Blossom Music Center in Cleveland.

Last September, Iris fired up a Pavilion at Star Lake audience as the leadoff act for Styx and Loverboy.

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"That was a really good time," Iris said.

The Moon show will be a good time, too, King Cool promises.

"There's going to be surprises. I don't know what they are. I don't know what else to tell people other than they have to hear The Vindys. The Clarks, everybody knows about them. It's just going to be a great night."

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@timesonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Rock with Donnie Iris as he celebrates the big 8-0