Joan Jett and The BlackHearts: A Dedication to Rock and Roll

By Everly Orfanedes

Joan Jett and The Blackhearts kicked off their tour at the Chevalier Theater in Medford Massachusetts on Friday night. The tour has been long awaited by fans due to its  postponement during a peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. 

Outside of the Chevalier, I waited alongside eager fans, many of whom this was not their first time attending a Joan Jett show. Over the bustle of excitement and ticket scanning, I overheard a person in the crowd mention they had seen Joan Jett perform back in the ‘80s, just when her career was taking off. Jett’s fanbase consists of primarily middle aged folks, some older, with a scattered few of younger individuals such as myself. 

At the age of 63, Joan Jett continues to know just how to wow a crowd, and has most certainly not lost her knack for performing rock and roll. While the years of wearing herself out on stage with dances and leaps may be at an end, the musician continues to bring her heart and soul to her shows. The set list ranged between hot radio hits, such as “Do You Wanna Touch Me” and “I Love Rock n’ Roll,” as well as deeper cuts from her catalog. This passion and energy is not only shown through Jett, but just as equally through her fanbase. Throughout the show, Jett made small talk with audience members towards the front of the crowd, and when telling a story between songs, she commented “I recognize some of the faces down here, and I don’t want to tell you the same story over and over again,” following this with a laugh shared with the fans. 

Jett’s encore served as a very unique and personal experience for both her and the fans. With the recent release of her acoustic album titled Changeup, Jett was clearly excited to share her new work with the fans, and they were eager to hear. When she asked the crowd how her acoustic tunes should be classified, one responded with “vulnerable,” to which she said she agreed over the microphone. The intimacy between Jett and the crowd is something that particularly stood out, and made for a show bustling with positive vibes.

This was a very unique concert experience as a person just beginning to discover who my favorite artists are, because I truly saw for the first time what a longtime, dedicated fanbase can look like. My biggest takeaway from the evening was that the excitement of attending your favorite artists shows is something that can and will never die, no matter how many decades fall in between.