PORTLAND, Maine — EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above aired Feb. 9, 2022.
For fans of The Ghost of Paul Revere, this weekend is bittersweet. The Maine-based band announced in April that the end was coming, and now the end is here.
The boys of Maine are going out with a bang. They'll play a VIP event at Oxbow Blending and Bottling on Friday night and then finish with their annual "Ghostland" show for thousands at Portland's Thompson's Point on Saturday.
Bandmates Griffin Sherry, Sean McCarthy, and Max Davis all grew up together and graduated from Bonny Eagle High School. The Ghost of Paul Revere was officially formed in 2011 and, in 2018, the group added Chuck Gagne as its drummer.
Throughout "The Last Ride" tour, The Ghost of Paul Revere has been hinting at a new and final album. The band released that album, titled "Goodbye," at midnight Friday.
The musicians' connection with their fans, particularly those in Maine, is a special one. That connection has been well-documented on the band's "Fans of The Ghost of Paul Revere" Facebook page.
"My first Ghost show in 3 years, and it will be their last. I'm just so grateful for them in the first place. Bittersweet," wrote one fan.
"I cried at my first show after their announcement. I will definitely be a mess at Ghostland," wrote another.
"Heart broken. My favorite band," wrote one fan, to which another responded, "Me too my dear friend. Hit me harder than my own divorce."
Still, it's better the band played and dissolved than for them to have never played at all. The music will live on. And though the band is calling Saturday's "Ghostland" show its last, that may not necessarily be true.
Sherry told NEWS CENTER Maine's partners at the Portland Press Herald there’s “an idea floating around” about continuing "Ghostland" in some form, though nothing is definite.
The band members' futures are otherwise unclear, though Sherry told the Press Herald he plans to continue performing and recording on his own. In their goodbye announcement, the band said they would "keep everyone posted about our future, individual endeavors."
In 2019, The Ghost of Paul Revere's "Ballad of the 20th Maine" was established as Maine's official state ballad. The song tells the story of the 2nd Maine Infantry Regiment through the eyes of soldier Andrew Tozier, son of Litchfield, as the unit joined the 20th Maine and fought valiantly at Little Round Top in the Battle of Gettysburg.
In February, while on a tour stop in Denver, the band said its trailer full of gear and merchandise was stolen from the parking lot of an Aurora hotel. Through a fundraising effort, the group was able to secure rental gear to continue on the tour with no cancellations, navigate logistical challenges, and replace the stolen gear items.
On April 1, the band said police recovered the trailer, which still had all of the gear and merchandise inside. The band said the remaining money raised through the fundraising campaign was donated to four different charities -- one chosen by each band member.
"We can’t thank everyone enough for the immense outpouring of love and generosity we were shown throughout this humbling experience," the band wrote in a Facebook post at the time.
RELATED: From playing in Maine bars to touring the world: Sitting down with The Ghost of Paul Revere
Though they've been friends since they were three, it wasn't until their teen years that the trio of Sherry, Davis, and McCarthy started playing music together.
"We all loved music, and we listened to music a bunch together. I mean, all those minivan rides we had as kids going from point A to point B," McCarthy told NEWS CENTER Maine in February. "But we didn't start playing music together until we were in probably tenth grade."
All three perform vocals on their tracks. Sherry plays guitar, McCarthy plays bass, and Davis plays the banjo.
When Gagne joined as drummer in 2018, he'd already been a close friend of the band for years and was a natural fit.
McCarthy said he and Davis would visit Griffin at Dogfish Bar & Grille every fourth Thursday night in the early years. Sherry was performing there solo at the time.
"We found out we'd get free beer if we sang with Griffin," McCarthy said.
"We've got to hook him somehow," Sherry said, laughing.
It wasn't too long after that McCarthy remembers feeling like the group might be on to something.
"One of those nights I just remember being down there, and it was completely filled up. And it's only like 50 people in there, but they were singing along to the songs that we were singing, and that was the first time that was kind of a, 'what's going on' moment. Like, this is bigger than what I thought it was originally," McCarthy said.
He continued, "The next time was on the stage at Empire, opening up for Dark Hallow Bottling Company. That was our first kind of real show in Portland, and the audience there was singing along with the songs. I remember getting the goosebumps and just kind of freaking out for a little bit."
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down as everyone knew it, music and that creative process became a lifeline for the group.
"In the greatest times, you turned to music. And in the worst times, you turn to music," Gagne said. "When everything was shut down, and we were suddenly just home, that was a great release and the greatest therapy."
Those feelings of release and therapy are feelings many Ghost fans experience listening to the band's music. While "Ghostland" on Saturday is sure to be an emotional goodbye for many, it will also be a celebration of what the band has meant to its fans and vice versa.
NEWS CENTER Maine's Samantha York contributed to this report.