For six weeks, former strangers Mitch Hughey, Todd Pemberton, Brad Leatherman, Cy McConnell and Andrew Camp formed the Patchwork Project band Emigrate to create a sound all their own. Their setlist Friday consists of covers of Mumford & Sons’ “I Will Wait,” The Beatles’ “Come Together” and a variety of original Emigrate music.

“We’re essentially all kinds of songwriters,” drummer Mitch Hughey says. “So, we compiled material we had done on our own.”

Hughey and percussionist Pemberton say band practices have gone very well and the band works well together in the relaxed mindset that the Patchwork Project affords. The short-term nature of the project allows the band to focus on the music without any bickering or pressure to develop a long-term sound, Pemberton says.

The five members of Emigrate are each involved in their own bands outside of the Patchwork Project and come from different musical backgrounds. Lead singer Camp has a wide vocal range, and bassist McConnell brings a lot of funky groove to the band, says Pemberton, who describes himself as the band’s wildcard musician.

“It would be crazy to try to put a genre on us,” Pemberton says. “It’s definitely a hybrid — a collaboration of the different music tastes.”

To give an example, Pemberton says that Emigrate’s rendition of “Come Together” will have a funkier groove and even a bit of a Latin influence with aid of his additional percussion.

Though Emigrate has no plan to stay together after tonight, Pemberton and Hughey both say that the Patchwork Project battle will be more about the music than the competition.

“Patchwork is meant to galvanize the community and bring people out to support each other’s bands,” Hughey says.

Pemberton says the project has gathered the “cream of the crop” from the local music scene.

“People don’t always realize how much talent there is in Columbia,” he says. “It’s really going to show what some of the local musicianship does.”