She was from Port Arthur, Texas, but she might as well have been from outer space. An honorary soul sister whose pleading banshee wail and SoCo-stained cackle seem to linger in the ether forever after her untimely death, Janis Joplin came to define the '60s in a way few musicians could. Her instrument, that ragged, raspy voice, was so all-encompassing that today we don't even remember, much less deign to seek out, the band that made her famous.

In that way, Big Brother & the Holding Company is like many of the treasures of the '60s – forgotten and obscured by easy-to-remember, mass-marketed symbols that have little to do with the time. It's why the Fremont Street Experience's Summer of '69: Vegas or Bust, the 40th anniversary celebration of that iconic season, the last gasp of one of the most transformative decades of the 20th century, is so vital. It expands our cognitive reach beyond flowers and tie-dye and bell bottoms and into the moments that changed history: the Apollo 11 moon landing and Woodstock.

Throughout the summer, bands that you may have only seen on dusty LP jackets or heard on classic rock radio take the stage on Fremont Street, the former through street and neon hub of old Las Vegas turned pedestrian promenade. On July 3, Big Brother performs live with singer Mary Bridget Davies subbing for Joplin and on July 4, The Grass Roots, known for the hits "Let's Live for Today" and "Midnight Confessions," help celebrate Independence Day. The rest of the summer's lineup is equally impressive with performances by Jefferson Starship (July 18) and the 5th Dimension (July 25), both in honor of the moon landing, Canned Heat (Sept. 5) and Three Dog Night (Sept. 6).

On the 40th anniversary of the decade's biggest festival, Woodstock TributePalooza presents tribute bands from some of the event's biggest names, including Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Joe Cocker and the Grateful Dead, Aug. 14-16.

John Van Hamersveld, the graphic artist best known for his album covers for The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, has been named official artist of the Summer of '69. His Hippie Nation Gallery & Records, open now on Fremont Street, houses a collection of posters, digital prints, original drawing and silk screens, all available for sale. Van Hamersveld has also created Signs of Life, a show to be premiered on Fremont Street's immense VivaVision canopy screen that stretches four city blocks, and two custom-painted school buses.

It's been four decades since Hendrix's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" sent the last Woodstock fans back the way they came across Max Yasgur's muddy field, and the music and the magic of that legendary summer lives on in Las Vegas. For those still tooling around in a Volkswagen bus or refusing to cut their hair, the long strange trip out of the '60s continues. Far out, man.