Over two decades have passed since the band Phish first graced the former Loring Air Force Base in 1997, bringing tens of thousands of fans along and even briefly making the small town of Limestone the most heavily populated in Maine.

The band held three festivals at the former base: 1997’s “The Great Went,” which takes its name from David Lynch’s Twin Peaks; 1998’s “Lemonwheel,” an anagram for “Hello, new me,” and play on words based on Limestone’s name, as both contain citrus fruit; and 2003’s “IT,” which was made into a two-disc DVD featuring a PBS documentary of the band.





In addition to drawing numbers of people never before seen in The County, the shows each had an economic impact on the region.

Loring Development Authority President Carl Flora, who served as LDA vice-president during all three shows, said each show brought “tens of millions” of dollars to Aroostook County, and that the IT festival in particular made $8.4 million through ticket sales alone.