It’s hard to find a voice in rock and roll as loud and true as Joan Jett’s, and there can’t be a better time to hear her play live and loud than this 4th of July. It’s a free show, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds for the San Diego County Fair . The fair’s been around a lot longer than rock and roll, but the history of each institution is pretty electric.

The fair began in the 1880s as an agricultural event, so that the farmers in the area could share secrets and showcase their successes. They added a racetrack in the 1930s, to generate more income. That was a fairly easy stretch, because the horses had already been shown at the fair since its beginnings, and the west coast is a spectacular place for races.

Joan Jett’s beginnings weren’t as calm and wholesome as a fair, but that’s rock and roll. The new biopic this year, the Runaways , goes through the early years in Jett’s career, and her band before she went solo with the Blackhearts. The Runaways were an experiment that went well, and ultimately went in too many directions at once. With the likes of Lita Ford and Cherie Currie in the lineup, there were plenty of arguments about the artistic direction, and the band split after just a few years of working together.

Meanwhile, Jett was off and running with her journeys into punk rock styles, and these turned out to be the perfect touch to her special blend of 3-chord classic rock. It gave her an edge that no one else could ever touch, and it will be a great thing to see at the free show for San Diego’s Independence Day . Locals will get a great treat, and out of town guests with bookings at hotels in San Diego are in a perfect position to take advantage of a rare opportunity.

San Diego loves rock and roll!

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