The lineup for the 2026 Festival at Sandpoint’s Community Night will feature Portland, Ore.-based folk band Joseph, alongside Sydney Dale, of Coeur d’Alene, and Sandpoint local Hannah Meehan.
Set for Sunday, Aug. 2 at War Memorial Field, Community Night tickets are on sale now for $20 at festivalatsandpoint.com, priced for maximum accessibility to concert goers in celebration of regional artists.
Made up of sisters Natalie and Meegan Closner, Joseph is well known for powerful harmonies, emotionally honest songwriting, and a genre-blurring blend of indie pop, folk and rock. Since the release of its breakout debut I’m Alone, No You’re Not in 2016 — which featured the hit single “White Flag” and landed the band appearances on The Tonight Show, Today and the Billboard charts — Joseph has built a following through live performances, national tours and performances at major festivals including Coachella, Glastonbury and Bonnaroo.
Sister duo Natalie and Meegan Closner as Joseph. Courtesy photo
Following the success of I’m Alone, No You’re Not have been a string of acclaimed albums, including Good Luck, Kid (2019) and The Sun (2023). Joseph’s 2026 record Closer to Happy marks the band’s boldest and most personal work to date, exploring themes of grief, self-trust and radical self-acceptance.
Sydney Dale. Courtesy photo
Sydney Dale is a singer-songwriter known for her expressive voice and emotionally detailed writing. She began writing songs at 9 and released her first single at 14, building a sound shaped by pop, jazz, R&B and folk.
Deeply passionate about every part of the creative process — from songwriting to performing and recording — Dale brings intention and emotion into each stage of her work, which centers on love, growth and connection with a sense of honesty and depth.
Hannah Meehan. Courtesy photo
Sandpoint-based singer-songwriter Hannah Meehan uses her music to weave together stories of joy and melancholy. Inspired by summers spent in the Pacific Northwest, Meehan reflects on the beauty and awe of the outdoors. Her folksy sound has been influenced by the conversational styles of Paul Simon and John Craigie — the latter a Portland-based singer-songwriter who has frequently made Sandpoint a home away from home — as well as the bold, elegant vocals of Sammy Rae.
Meehan was most recently featured on KSPS PBS’s Inland Sessions and can be found gigging throughout North Idaho and surrounds.
Community Night will be a seated show, meaning that the area in front of the stage is a general admission blanket-and-short-chair seating area.
Want to support independent local journalism?
The Sandpoint Reader is our town's local, independent weekly newspaper. "Independent" means that the Reader is locally owned and operated by people who were born and raised in Sandpoint. The Reader is owned by Publisher Ben Olson, Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone and Senior Writer Soncirey Mitchell. Sandpoint Reader LLC is a completely independent business unit; no big newspaper group or corporate conglomerate or billionaire owner dictates our editorial policy. And we want the news, opinion and lifestyle stories we report to be freely available to all interested readers - so unlike many other newspapers and media websites, we have NO PAYWALL on our website. The Reader relies wholly on the support of our valued advertisers, as well as readers who voluntarily contribute. Want to ensure that local, independent journalism survives in our town? You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.
TIMBER WARS: Six-part series, February-November 2022. GO READ IT»
WHERE ARE THE WORKERS?: Five-part series, September-October 2021. GO READ IT»
THE AMERICAN REDOUBT: Seven-part series, November-December 2017. GO READ IT»
STANDOFF AT RUBY RIDGE: 25 Years Later. Five-part series, August-September 2017. GO READ IT»
Curious about what media the locals use? Check our 2018 Local Media Survey. GO SEE »
Sandpoint in Pictures
Filmmaker Jimmy Matlosz of the Idaho Film Company has made a series of mini documentaries about influential Sandpoint locals, including the late Dann Hall and Erik Daarstad as well as icons Diane Michaels and Dan Shook. He is currently working on a series of interviews connected to the history of the Panida Theater. Jimmy is a 30-year veteran filmmaker who's work can be seen at dpmatlosz.com.
Meet the Reader
Ever wonder who makes the Reader happen? Here's a behind-the-scenes look pieced together by summer 2017 intern McCalee Cain in which Ben, Cameron and Lyndsie explain what exactly about the Reader keeps them coming back to their shabby (but well-loved) office each week.
