ORANGE BEACH, AL — Orange Beach was the geographic center of the classic rock universe Friday night when two iconic bands named for the locations of their founding – Boston and Kansas – landed on stage at the Wharf Amphitheater.

A multi-generational crowd appreciated every note from both groups, which skyrocketed to international followings and album sales success in the 1970s.

The Smith family from Pensacola included three sons as eager to see the classic rockers as much as Mom and Dad.

“Which band are you here to see?” we asked dad Richard Smith.

“Both. I’ve followed them both since my college days in the 80’s.”

Kansas opened the Wharf show with favorites like “Dust in the Wind”, “Point of No Return” and “Carry on My Wayward Son.” The group’s orchestral mix of violin, keyboards and vocal harmonies hadn’t dropped a note’s worth of virtuosity since they began playing to stadium sized audiences 40 years ago,

Boston opened with the always-driving “Rock n Roll Band” and kept the crowd on its feet most of their set all the way through a finale of “More Than a Feeling.”

Founder Tom Scholz, originally from Ohio, looks as fit as the college kid who launched Boston into the stratosphere with its original self-named album in 1976. That LP with its guitar/spaceship cover art became a fixture of a generation’s record collection . . . to the tune of 17 million album sales.

Attired in his sleeveless Gibson guitar T-shirt Friday night in Orange Beach, Sholz maintains that original Boston magic with his haunting guitar overtones and reverb effects. Sholz engineered and built much of his own instrument and pedal effect equipment when he was in college at MIT, where he holds undergraduate and Masters degrees.

Sholz has stayed busy off the stage and outside recording studios. The Foundation he founded in 1987 has raised millions to helped causes from worldwide hunger relief to building homeless shelters, animal rescue and protection sanctuaries, and advocating for children’s rights.

PETA awarded him their prestigious Compassionate Action Award in 2013.

Don’t let his nice guy and good Samaritan persona dissuade you, though. Tom Sholz and his band Boston can still flat out rock the house. As can their compatriots from Kansas.