Rain, police keep rock fest calm

SOMERSET, Wis. (AP) -- More police were brought in to watch over thousands of fans attending a three-day alternative rock gathering with a history of underage drinking and rowdy behavior.

Opponents of this year's 93X Fest at Float-rite Park have complained in past years about concertgoers overwhelming this western Wisconsin village of about 1,470.

Wet weather and the stepped-up police presence kept this year's crowd well behaved over the weekend.

Crowding, underage drinking, public drunkenness and drug possession had residents riled. Sister Carmela Chetcuti of St. Anne's Convent in Somerset said last year the church garage was smashed and concertgoers littered the village cemetery.

Last year, Somerset police made about 1,000 citations during the 30,000-strong party, then known as Edgefest. It changed its name after The Edge, its Minneapolis-St. Paul area radio station sponsor, switched its name to 93X.

Promoters said they sold about 26,000 tickets this year.

But since Thursday, police had written about 500 citations near the concert site and in the village for offenses ranging from drunken driving to drug possession to underage drinking.

Inside the concert grounds, St. Croix County sheriff's deputies made about 40 arrests and citations Friday and about 25 more on Saturday.

Sheriff's Capt. Bob Klanderman said the rain had kept things pretty calm.

Rita Lawson of Concerned Citizens for the Somerset Area, which formed in opposition to the concerts, said there are probably twice as many police this year than in the past.

''This makes residents feel safer,'' she said.

Concertgoer Marcy Williams, 21, of Waseca, Minn., said things have changed from years past when residents sat on their lawns and sold pop and food.

''They don't even want to see us anymore,'' she said.