AUGUSTA — A bill signing turned into a concert Friday. Members of the Portland folk band The Ghost of Paul Revere played their song “The Ballad of the 20th Maine” after Gov. Janet Mills signed legislation declaring it the official state ballad.

Band members Griffin Sherry, Sean McCarthy and Max Davis performed the song in the Hall of Flags at the State House before an audience that included Mills and the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Scott Cuddy, D-Winterport.

The song, written by Sherry, is about the 20th Maine Regiment’s crucial role in winning the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. Mills issued a statement after the signing saying that the song reminds Mainers “of our proud heritage, the role our great state has played in the history of our nation and to be forever grateful to those who served and saved our country.”

The ballad joins the state’s two other official musical selections. The official state song, “The State of Maine Song”  was written by Roger Vinton Snow of Portland in 1931 in response to a publicity contest. The official state march, “The Dirigo March,” was written by Leo Pepin of Augusta and approved by the legislature in 2012.

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