Live!
Who: OK Go, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Emerson Drive and other acts When: 6 p.m. tomorrow through Sunday Where: Fairfax County Government Center

Thursday, June 5, 2008; VA26

"Summer starts here!" is the slogan of the 27th annual Celebrate Fairfax! event, and who are we to argue? This weekend festival includes funnel cakes and fireworks, Ferris wheels and family-friendly entertainment. Let the season begin!

The fair also offers a sweet deal for music fans: dozens of performers, including nationally known stars and great regional acts. Check out http://www.celebratefairfax.com http:// for details. As for highlights, the lineup at the Bud Light Main Stage is truly worth celebrating, starting with the 8 p.m. Friday set by OK Go.

With at least 24 million YouTube viewings, OK Go's video for the Grammy-winning "Here It Goes Again" might still be better known as "the one where the guys dance on treadmills." Thankfully, the Los Angeles-based quartet doesn't need props to put on an entertaining show. With no gym equipment in sight, the quartet keeps crowds jumping with pop/rock energy and catchy, hook-laden melodies such as "Get Over It" and "A Million Ways."

On Saturday, the Main Stage offers a 3 p.m. matinee with Bowling for Soup, a comic punk band from Texas best known for the singles "Girl All the Bad Guys Want" and "1985" and for wild, who-knows-what-happens-next live shows.

At 8 p.m. Saturday, everyone can sing "I Love Rock-and-Roll" when Joan Jett and the Blackhearts take the stage. The black-leather-wearing, guitar-slinging rocker has been on the road since her teenage days with the Runaways and spoke briefly by phone from New York, where she's doing a guest spot ("I get murdered.") for the TV series "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."

After long years playing at every imaginable venue, from tiny clubs to festivals, she said of Saturday's show: "The only difference is that in a fair atmosphere, you know it's a family-oriented thing, and there's a lot of kids there, so I watch the vulgarity. . . . You don't need to swear to play rock-and-roll anyway."

It's a homecoming of sorts; Jett grew up in the Rockville area. "I went to Randolph Junior High and then to Wheaton High School. I still have a lot of high school friends who come to concerts. And I'm still a fanatic Baltimore Orioles fan," she said.

 

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-- MARIANNE MEYER