The Music Never Stops: Sophia Coppola 

When most people think of typical rock instruments, clarinet, saxophone and mandolin are rarely the first ones to come to mind. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t have a role to play. Among those who have successfully utilized them is Sophia Coppola, using them to weave tapestries of sound in folk groups and jam bands.  

Coppola is a University of Connecticut alum who has been a part of multiple bands in Connecticut as a multi-instrumentalist, including King Bolete Band, Naked Air and Peerless Paupers. Her skill set gives these groups’ music a unique element to their sound with the inclusion of these instruments. 

Coppola’s musical journey started with learning the clarinet “in a fairly classical background,” as she described it. But she soon started playing in jam bands, which feature long stretches of musical improvisation. She said that when she first started, it took a while for her to figure out her role in groups that were mainly guitar driven. But she found a way to add to the sound by filling the role that a keyboardist has by playing organ lines on the clarinet.  

“The way I learned how to play clarinet in a rock setting was filling the role of organ,” she said. “So, I would transcribe a lot of organ lines and give myself options for which notes to play over the chords.” 

She also started running her clarinet through a pedalboard, which added emphasis to her instrument and made it sound like she was playing full chords, creating a much fuller sound.  

But Coppola’s contributions aren’t limited to clarinet. After seeing bluegrass mandolinist Sierra Hull perform in 2022, she started learning mandolin to play in songs that were more folk-driven or needed more chords behind them. She also added saxophone to her repertoire over the past year, which she has particularly been focusing on lately.  

Coppola noted that her style of playing has continuously changed with different bands and is something that she can tailor to whoever she is playing with.  

“As I play, it changes with the instrumentation,” she said. “I was playing in Bolete for a long time without another chordal instrument besides guitar. So, I did a lot of comping, a lot of background, like synth parts. And then if I couldn’t find a good spot for the clarinet or if there needed to be more chordal background, I would play my mandolin.” 

She also said that as she plays with bands with keyboardists, it allows her to take on a more traditional role of a horn player by adding melodic lines to the music. This is similar to what Garth Hudson of The Band would do, whom Coppola called one of her biggest inspirations.  

“Now that I’m able to play in bands that have keys in them, I’m actually taking the role of a horn player,” she said. “Sometimes, I’ll take the role of the guitar and do fills. A lot of the time I try to create atmosphere, especially with my saxophone with long crescendos.” 

The first band Coppola joined was Peerless Paupers, where she met drummer Eli Farland and guitarist Mike Piercey. Those three then went on to form the band Naked Air and did a few shows in Storrs. Among those shows was a performance at UConn’s Moon Club in November 2021 to a crowd of nearly 500 people. She described it as “the biggest gig that band ever played” as hundreds gathered to hear their set of moon-themed songs.  

During this time, Coppola started attending “river house parties” at the house of Henry Thomas, the drummer of Residual Groove. These gatherings featured a melting pot of musicians who came from across New England and the East Coast to come jam. She noted that “a lot of my musical development came at [the] river house” as she continued to expand the scope of her playing in a jam band setting.  

Naked Air then evolved into King Bolete Band, a group that took their high-powered jams to noted Connecticut jam band venues like Stella Blues in New Haven and RoadRunner in Bridgeport. But they still made time to make appearances in Storrs, including a performance at the Storrs Congregational Church in September 2023. 

Coppola said that “it was interesting [playing in Storrs] because there weren’t a lot of people that really resonated with the jam band stuff there.” Nonetheless, she recalled the crowd at the church show moshing to songs like “Frankenstein” by the Edgar Winter Group. 

While at UConn, Coppola had to balance her studies with her musical activities, most of which required her to drive across the state for. She was able to manage both with “a lot of online lectures and coffee” and that doing so was worth it.  

“I did it because it was fun,” she said. “I didn’t want to miss out on any of that and I’m glad I did it. And I don’t remember being tired as much as I remembered having fun.” 

One of her favorite parts of her time with King Bolete Band was when her high school friend and violinist Audrey Rivetta joined, which led to them making clarinet and violin arrangements to songs like “Ophelia” by The Band and “Long Distance Runaround” by Yes, allowing them to tackle these songs with more depth.  

“You’re able to play two notes at once on a fiddle and I’m able to play one note at once on my horn,” she said. “We scored out all the horn lines and ran with it, and we had a ton of [fun] with it.” 

Now, Coppola recently moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, where she regularly performs at open jam nights at Bishop’s Lounge. She noted that “the western Massachusetts scene is a bit more Americana and earthy” than the Connecticut jam scene, which has resonated with her. But no matter where she takes the stage, she shines through with her dynamic multi-instrumental prowess, creating multi-layered jams that will keep people coming back for more.