Songwriter round to land downtown Saturday

SANDPOINT — If original music is your jam, there will be no better place to be this weekend than The Hive. 

The First Avenue venue will host 12 singer-songwriters 6:30 p.m. Saturday for Deep Roots — a showcase of homegrown talent and the original works of Sandpoint’s premier music artists. 

To make it happen, promoter and longtime Sandpoint musician Kevin Dorin and Hive general manager Mack Deibel reached across their networks to assemble a genre-spanning cast of performers. 

“We have the like-minded mentality of just trying to bring out the needle in the haystack and let original music have its opportunity in our culture,” Dorin said. 

According to Dorin, Sandpoint’s live music scene isn’t always hospitable for songwriters; local artists are often hesitant to play original songs at gigs.

“Thursday through Saturday, you have five to seven venues that have free, non-ticketed events,” said Dorin. “At almost all those venues, people are playing about 75-90% covers.” 

Venues can view original music as a risk since it may not always appeal to a mass audience. Additionally, sharing something as personal as an original song can be daunting for artists outside of the right environment. 

“A lot of people who are going to be on the stage Saturday like to sneak their songs between covers, just to see if anybody notices the difference,” said Dorin. “They haven't announced it, they haven't made a point of it, because for whatever reason, that's the culture.” 

“People have been playing original music around town for years, and people don't even know it,” he added.

Saturday’s event will be a “songwriter round,” in which three groups of four will perform throughout the evening. The artists include both touring musicians making a homecoming and local gems who seldom present their talents on stage. 

Katelyn Shook, one half of Portland-based folk duo The Shook Twins, will perform again in her hometown after she and her sister opened for Gregory Alan Isakov during the 2022 Festival at Sandpoint. 

Saturday will also see Americana act Josh Hedlund make a rare appearance, who Dorin described as “an absolutely wild songwriter.” 

“I've only seen him twice in 12 years,” Dorin said of Hedlund playing live. “He’s probably one of the main reasons Mack and I were so stoked to do this.” 

Dorin emphasized the need for a select environment to bring out personal, original music. 

“Your neighbor might be one of the most wildly talented people you've ever met, and you had no freaking clue,” said Deibel. “The guy who may have made your coffee this morning might have one of the most incredible voices you’ve never heard.” 

Through events like Deep Roots, Dorin and Deibel hope to restore Sandpoint as a place songwriters thrive. Dorin recalled a time when local musicians and promoters like Hedlund and Ben Olson attracted and hosted premier acts at the Downtown Crossing, a former venue on First Avenue. 

“We're trying to tap back into what all those guys created,” Dorin said. “They're the ones who originally built the culture.” 

To do it, Dorin and Deibel will need the support of the community. If Sandpoint demonstrates a demand for original music Saturday, “we can afford to take more risks on this type of show,” Dorin said. 

To make the experience unique, attendees of Deep Roots will go home with an exclusive recording of the show. This, the organizers hope, will create an intimate shared experience in an era dominated by streaming and saturation. 

“That kind of brings it back full circle to what music was 20 years ago,” said Dorin. 

“If we do this right, and if it goes as well as I think it's going to go, it's going to be an escape for people where they aren't in a state of the past or the future,” Dorin said. 

“They're going to be in the present, where there's a potential for joy.”