Submitted photo Members of Blue Morning performing at The Struthers Library Theatre in Warren, Pa., in 2023.

“I’m just a singer in a rock and roll band.”

You may have heard those lyrics before. They are from the song “I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band) by the Moody Blues circa 1972-73.

For Jim Cheronis those lyrics ring true.

And during our interview he said those words with a big smile on his face hoping I would catch the allusion.

And I did.

He is the lead singer in Blue Morning, a Foreigner Tribute band based in Warren, Pa.

In a word – well, actually three words – the band rocks.

Blue Morning is scheduled to perform March 9 at 7 p.m. at Struthers Library Theatre, 302 W. Third Ave., Warren.

You can call the concert a homecoming of sorts as the band probably will be performing to a sold out house.

The show was sold out in 2023 at the Library Theatre.

I know.

I was there.

The music was spot on.

And now the band expands on its show by calling it Foreigner Radio. It doesn’t happen at every show, Cheronis said, but when the band decides to play Foreigner Radio, the members may perform songs by other well-known bands that Foreigner has toured with in the past including Styx, Loverboy, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, and Cheap Trick. Of course these are not all the bands that Foreigner has toured with, just some, but you get the picture of what kind of songs to expect with Foreigner Radio.

“For example, we do Styx. They have toured with them (Foreigner),” Cheronis said. “So we’ll make songs that you would either have heard going to a Foreigner concert because the band’s played with Foreigner or if you turn on the radio you might hear a song.”

Cheronis added that Blue Morning pays tribute to Foreigner by not only faithfully reproducing the music, but tweaking the music, by putting their own spin to the music.

The reason Blue Morning can tweak the songs of Foreinger is because Blue Morning has very good musicians who can cover a lot of parts, and each member brings his own experiences, and draws on those experiences to make the band stronger.

The rest of the members are keyboardist, vocalist Anthony Brown; guitarist, vocalist Rich Alcorn; drummer, vocalist Darrin Payne; and bassist, vocalist Roger Christopherson.

“We have a robust setlist of music that we can do anything,” Cheronis said. “We could do pure Foreigner. We could do Foreigner Radio. We could play a one hour show up to a three hour show, and do any type of a venue.”

The band’s next project, Cheronis said, is to write original songs that can capture the spirit of the music of Foreigner.

“So what we want to do is having been immersed in the Foreigner experience for the last few years. We want to see if we can come up with music that one could potentially hear at a Foreigner concert,” Cheronis added.

And another venture that is on the horizon for Cheronis, is his solo project. He said he is in the midst of writing material for it. He is working with members of Blue Morning as well as some guest musicians.

“I’m kind of driving the music,” Cheronis said. “Many of the songs are co-written or co-produced with Roger my bass player.”

Cheronis said that he and Christopherson present the songs to other members of the band, so they can add their own touches.

The working title for the album is “Back Home.” Cheronis said some of the songs were written when he was in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga.

“‘Back Home’ is going to be about soldiers coming back to their families after doing their service,” Cheronis said.

For more information about tickets contact Sturthers at (814) 723-7231 or visit strutherslibrarytheatre.org.