From Beantown Bars to Brighton Music Hall: Local Band Copilot Reflects on Their Rollercoaster Journey

By Payton Cavanaugh

From college jam sessions to sold out shows in some of Boston’s most intimate venues, local indie pop rock band Copilot brings a unique energy to the live music scene. 

Ryan McDonald (vocals) had always loved playing music and first started toying with the idea of playing gigs in 2015, first curating a solo act and soon adding Maggie Quealy’s vocals to the mix. Ry said he remembered Maggie telling him she hadn’t made it through an American Idol tryout, then hearing her voice and being amazed. 

“For myself music wasn’t something that was in my plan,” said Quealy, “it wasn’t until meeting Ry and all the guys (the remainder of the band in its final form) that it completely changed for me in the best way.”

The two played gigs as a duo for around two years until Jake Machell’s vocals were integrated into the band. Machell had been in a band prior to Copilot, but took a break from performing as he awaited his band member’s return from touring with James Taylor, doing sound and stage. 

“Jake was the first person I met in college,” said Ry, “I remember sitting around a fire and hearing him sing a song he wrote and I was like, ‘How is this not a song?’”

Shortly after, the group added two of their close college friends Austin Beveridge (Bev) on bass and drummer Dylan Allwine. The two had been in a band with Jack Snow who joined Copilot as the guitarist. In 2018, the bands fused together at a friends backyard party called Tansa-palooza (famous amongst residents of Contoocook New Hampshire). 

“We ended up playing together there and then again at Rockwood Music Hall,” said Ryan, “Because Rockwood was one of our favorite venues we wanted to put on a great show and we teamed up again and that locked us in.”

Since then the band has remained in its final form. 

“Six is probably enough people,” Dylan laughed, “we’re one member away from the Doobey Brothers.” 

Copilot started performing at various venues in Boston, but they accredited their first break into the local music scene to Loretta’s Last Call, a local country music bar who entrusted them to handle their largest crowds. 

“They gave us a really great launching pad in Boston, for a bar that’s a country bar to bring in an indie rock pop rock band and trust us to handle a Friday and Saturday night crowd was a pretty big bone to throw,” said Machell. 

The band had quite the ride building momentum and finding their space and sound in Boston’s music scene prior to the pandemic, which ultimately halted live music and forced it to take on a brand new form. The group reflected on the stark difference between live performances and the live-streamed shows they put on amidst the pandemic. Machell said that the transition between the two was long awaited, yet also recognized the intimacy of playing their sets together without a live audience in the same space stream after stream. 

“Gathering in the small apartment and clearing out the living room, I mean there was something intimate about that, the only place we would go. We would rehearse in Dylan’s room, he had a twin bed in there, and he would sit in his closet so we could all cram in.”

While there were some positive aspects to the live stream shows, Ryan recollected on the difficulty of ensuring a strong turnout. 

“The tough thing about the livestream thing was that you knew it wasn’t gonna last,” Ryan said. “I remember the first one everyone was like ‘We’re so excited to have some form of live music’ and then by the next one it was like half the audience had just dropped off, so to actually be back on a stage and be able to not be talking to the camera is the best.”

After coming back to the live music scene, the band’s drummer Dylan had an accident which had threatened his ability to walk, putting his drumming career at risk. Dylan has since gotten back to drumming and gigging with the band. 

“We obviously didn’t plan for anything like that to ever happen,” said Bev, “but it brought us closer and made us more passionate going into the studio and going forward as a band.” 

Coming out of Dylan’s accident, the band wrote and released their single “Gimme My Mans Back” on June 7th this year. 

“It means even more to me that we’re still the same core members after Dylan’s accident because it’s a bigger testament to our love for each other,” said Ryan.

Copilot has continued to release content, most recently their single “You Were Nevah,” on October 7th. The creation of the song draws from Bev’s musical creation and Ry’s interesting lyrical inspiration. 

“Bev brought me into his room and had a bass line and a drum loop, and then this girl was mean to me on Tinder literally a couple minutes before” said Ryan, “and then we combined those two things and it was super fun.”

The majority of the band's music is the end result of a combination of minds, each member bringing a different piece. The band is currently polishing their newest album, set to release in the coming months. 

“We’ve been finding our sound for so long,” said Ry, “I think on this album we’re really carving it out and solidifying it.”

For more on your friendly neighborhood Copilot, and to stay up to date with releases and show dates, you can check out their Instagram @copilotmusicofficial.