Lots of musicians play cover shows to pay the bills. Few play a hundred plus a year the way Copilot has.
Copilot has spent half a decade bubbling up in the Boston scene. Now the band is ready to take off with its originals. It’s a flight that feels well earned.
“At one point, we were playing Loretta’s Last Call twice a day every Sunday,” singer/guitarist Ry McDonald told the Herald. “You hope to pay rent and have someone come up to you after and ask, ‘Do you do your own music?’ So you can say, ‘Why, yes, yes we do.’ ”
McDonald shares vocal duties with fellow band founders Maggie Hall and Jake Machell. Drummer Dylan Allwine, bassist Austin Beveridge, and guitarist Jack Snow back them up. Together they combine for booming lead vocals, tight harmonies and energetic Americana breakdowns — Copilot exists in a cool sonic world somewhere between pop and soul, folk and jam band grooves. The tightness and energy were well earned in the trenches of endless cover shows.
“It’s reps, reps, reps,” Machell said. “When you are blending three vocals and the different phrasings that we each use, no number of reps is too many reps. No number of reps is enough. So now in the songs that we sing, I know where Maggie’s voice is going to go, I know where Ry’s voice is going to go, and I know where my voice needs to fit in.”
A big selling point to the band is the blend. The members had crossed paths in different high school and college configurations. A jam at a party led to realization they needed to join forces — the guys basically knew they had to be in a band with Hall after hearing her sing. Those magic vocals are all over new EP “Vroom Vroom, etc.” (out Friday, with a release show Saturday at the Rockwell Theater in Davis Square).
The EP kicks off with “Let Me Down” and Hall’s huge voice — the recent single will appeal to fans of both modern country and earthy rock ‘n’ roll. But all four tracks show off the members’ pipes (and musical chops). Famously, bands with three lead singers — Beatles, Fleetwood Mac — have bumpy rides. Copilot isn’t worried about ego conflicts.
“Everyone in our group is such a team player,” Hall said. “We root for each other. I love singing in a group with these two. I love letting everyone have their own moments. We’re just such fans of each other.”
Those reps, reps, reps have prepared the band for any stage. That means in a crowd of hip hop and indie rock fans Copilot can crush a performance — as the group did on stage in December at the Boston Music Awards (Copilot got a Pop Artist of the Year nomination). That means the band are ready for the massive spotlight of the Boston Calling stage — Copilot is one of a handful of locals in the lineup.
“Maggie and I went in 2018, before Jake had even (started playing with us),” McDonald said. “We looked at each other and had a quiet moment where we said, ‘We’re going to do this. We’ll get to this.’”
Now they are a few short months from doing it. And at this gig, they don’t have to play any covers.
For music, tickets, and details, visit copilotband.com