Pine Knob gears up for busy summer of concerts, concessions and new self-serve cocktails

On a warm and sunny Thursday that offered an early taste of summer, officials at Pine Knob Music Theatre previewed a coming season bustling with concerts, new food options and the arrival of self-serve cocktail machines.

More than 40 shows are on tap at the Clarkston venue, the reigning No. 1 amphitheater in Pollstar magazine's year-end box office charts.

"Welcome back," 313 Presents president Howard Handler told gathered media while alluding to the venue's golden anniversary in 2022: "It's really fun to begin the next 50 years of Pine Knob Music Theatre."

The season will kick off May 20 with the 95.5 WYCD Hoedown, topped by Tim McGraw, and is scheduled to wrap up Sept. 23 with Riff Fest, headlined by Detroit band I Prevail.

In between, shows include big country names (Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt), hip-hop heavyweights (Snoop Dogg-Wiz Khalifa, 50 Cent), homecoming artists (Anita Baker, Billy Strings) and rising stars (Jelly Roll) among the array of summer rock fixtures such as Dave Matthews Band, Barenaked Ladies, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Steve Miller Band.

Thursday also brought the unveiling of Pine Knob's 2023 season poster, designed by College for Creative Studies student Alison Slackta, a 21-year-old Byron native.

Her vivid, retro-inspired work emerged from a new partnership between CCS and 313 Presents, which enlisted illustration students to submit poster designs. Slackta's winning poster will be given to concertgoers at select shows, including the Hoedown season opener, and will be available for purchase at merchandise stands throughout the summer, with a portion of proceeds going to CCS.

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Slackta said her design melded "elements of the old Pine Knob with a modern perspective."

"I was inspired by my own experiences — I've been here so many times — but also by their brand reset," Slackta said, referencing last year's reboot of the Pine Knob name and vintage-style logo.

Handler touted Live Nation, which books the artists at the 15,040-capacity amphitheater, and shouted out main sponsors United Wholesale Mortgage, Trinity Health and Ally, which signed multiyear rights deals in 2022.

And he talked about what's new for patrons: "We worked very hard to think about some innovations during the offseason," Handler said.

New this year are automated cocktails bars, food items from Levy — the venue's food and beverage partner — coffee trucks, mini doughnuts and Italian Ice, and a hot dog cart.

A highlight is the automated cocktail machines for those 21 and older. The TendedBar and Rotender allow concertgoers to skip long lines and have drinks ready in less than a minute. TendedBar is cash-free and based on facial recognition, according to a news release. With the Rotender, you order drinks using a mobile phone.

At the VIP Ivy Lounge, Levy has created several food items with its new smoker.  A new offering from executive chef Scott Johnson is a platter that includes smoked pork barbecue, jalapeno cheddar sausage, barbecue spiced whole chicken wings, slaw, pickled red onions, pickles, cornbread and mac and cheese. It’s $30 and shareable.

“I feel great about our new smoker,” Johnson said. “I have Southern roots, and the smoker is near and dear to my heart.”

The items on the platter will also be available and sold individually at the Coppercraft Club.

The Ivy Salad is also new to the Ivy Lounge. It’s a bed of mixed greens topped with grilled or crispy chicken, cheddar cheese, cherry tomatoes, shaved red onions, hard-boiled egg, bacon bits and ranch dressing.

Other new food items

Detroit Mini Donut: This women- and minority-owned business will offer a variety of its signature doughnuts as well as new Italian Ice offerings in several flavors.

"We are very excited to be here,” co-owner Karen Hudson said. “We’ve been making doughnuts in and around metro Detroit since 2011. A lot of people know us and are excited to see us here since we’ve been posting about the concert series.“

Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck: The mobile truck from Saginaw has coffees ranging from a latte to a frappe.

The Frozen Spoon: This food trailer will have a variety of custard items along with frozen custard nachos and cookie sandwiches.

Zdawgz: The hot dog cart will offer everything from classic hot dogs to red hots.

Returning food offerings include Detroit Grille House with burgers, chicken strips and herb garlic fries. New this year is a Nashville Hot chicken sandwich. Detroit Grille House will also feature the PK Burger, which will change with the Michigan seasons, said owner Darren Stowell. First up is a Caprese burger.

Prime Time Subs also returns to Pine Knob with its Italian, turkey, veggie and Buffalo chicken subs, all made on homemade bread.

Honcho Outpost is now in its sixth season at Pine Knob in Ally East Village. It will serve Latin-style street food including nachos, tacos, burritos and its signature margarita.

Food and beverages will also be available at the Tree House by Lume, which offers more than 20 craft and traditional beers.

Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum at 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com. Food writer Susan Selasky can be reached at sselasky@freepress.com.

Pine Knob concert schedule, 2023

(Headliners as of May 11)

May 20 WYCD Hoedown with Tim McGraw

June 2 Dierks Bentley

June 13 The Cure

June 14 Matchbox Twenty

June 16 Billy Strings

June 18 Weezer and Modest Mouse

June 23 Eric Church

June 25 TLC and Shaggy

June 27 Dave Matthews Band

June 29 Santana

July 2 Anita Baker

July 6 Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Garbage

July 13 Bret Michaels

July 19 Big Time Rush

July 22 Barenaked Ladies

July 23 Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa

July 26 Avenged Sevenfold

July 27 Sam Hunt

July 29 Fall Out Boy

Aug. 2 Gov't Mule

Aug. 4 Boy George and Culture Club

Aug. 5 KIDZ BOP

Aug. 6 Mudvayne

Aug. 9 Godsmack and Staind

Aug. 12 Steve Miller Band

Aug. 13 Nickelback

Aug. 14 Ghost

Aug. 17 Jelly Roll

Aug. 23 The Offspring

Aug. 25 The Lumineers

Aug. 26 Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top

Aug. 29 Arctic Monkeys

Aug. 30 Foreigner

Sept. 1 Disturbed

Sept. 2 Beck

Sept. 3 Pentatonix

Sept. 5 Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper

Sept. 6 The Smashing Pumpkins

Sept. 8 Jason Aldean

Sept. 12 Shinedown

Sept. 17 50 Cent

Sept. 20 Outlaw Music Festival with Willie Nelson & Family, Bob Weir & Wolf Bros, the String Cheese Incident, Particle Kid

Sept. 23 Riff Fest with I Prevail, Bad Omens, Badflower, Giovannie & the Hired Guns

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pine Knob ready for summer of concerts, food and new self-serve drinks