The Gap: Gen-X in Maine, Boomers at Woodstock

LIMESTONE, Maine — A lonely air base transformed virtually overnight into a teeming tent city where Generation X rock ‘n’ roll fans gathered for a weekend music festival alongside runways where B-52 bombers once came and went.

While baby boomers returned to hallowed ground at a Woodstock anniversary concert in New York, a mostly younger generation of tie-dyed music lovers convened Saturday for a two-day Phish jam, called Lemonwheel for the thin-sliced citrus garnish, in a remote corner of the country near Canada.

The Vermont-based rock band, considered the successor to the Grateful Dead, staged their end-of-summer festival for the second year at Loring Air Force Base, which was closed in 1994. Police estimated the crowd at 60,000 when the music started.

In Bethel, N.Y., a crowd of more than 18,000 gathered on the original site of Woodstock on the 29th anniversary of the landmark rock ‘n’ roll festival. Performers included Pete Townshend, Richie Havens, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Third Eye Blind and Goo Goo Dolls.