Pine Knob welcomes new marquee, full concert season as it turns 50 and reclaims old name
A quiet spring Friday in Clarkston was the prelude to a loud summer ahead.
Officials with 313 Presents staged a media event to herald the return of Pine Knob Music Theatre, a milestone anniversary and the arrival of the first full concert season since 2019.
A new marquee bearing the old Pine Knob name greeted guests heading onto Bob Seger Drive off Sashabaw Road, as the historic amphitheater returned to its original moniker after two decades as DTE Energy Music Theatre.
When the season kicks off next Friday with New York AJR — the first of nearly 50 shows — fans will find a venue teeming with signage sporting the Pine Knob logo and commemorations of the amphitheater’s 50th anniversary.
“How fun it is to say ‘Welcome back to Pine Knob Music Theatre,’ ” said 313 Presents President Howard Handler.
Handler recounted the venue’s storied history, dating to a June 19, 1972, afternoon concert from teen idol David Cassidy, when Pine Knob became the first major U.S. amphitheater devoted to popular music. For artists, it became “a must-play fixture” on touring itineraries, Handler said. For Michigan music fans, it became a “highly acclaimed rite of summer.”
Also new this year are rebranded entrances and parking lots touting Pine Knob’s new Michigan-based sponsor partners — United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), Trinity Health and Ally. Executives from the three companies were on hand Friday to mark the new multiyear deals.
“It was a no-brainer for us to be involved, said Sarah DeCiantis, chief marketing officer with UWM, who like others Friday talked of her own lifelong memories of summer nights at the amphitheater.
“To be part of restoring Pine Knob to its rightful glory is surreal,” she said.
The anniversary year will be celebrated with summerlong features and festivities, including a west-entrance photo display featuring 135 Pine Knob concert images shot by 17 photographers, several of whom were on-site Friday. The photos — all previously unpublished or rarely seen — run from Cassidy’s inaugural ’72 show up through 2019, including Pine Knob staples such as Bob Seger, Jimmy Buffett, Rod Stewart and James Taylor.
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The photos are also available for viewing on a just-launched Pine Knob 50 website (313Presents.com/PineKnob50), where Pine Knob merchandise, including vintage-style apparel, is now available. Fans are encouraged to share their own photos and venue stories on social media with the hashtag #PineKnob50.
Fans at next week’s AJR show will get stickers with the new Pine Knob graphic, an updated twist on the classic logo and its vintage '70s font. On June 19 — the 50th anniversary date — Hoedown festival attendees will all receive a commemorative poster.
This year’s full concert season follows an abbreviated schedule of two dozen shows last summer as the touring industry rebooted following a pandemic shutdown.
The return of the Pine Knob name was announced in January as DTE ended a naming-rights deal it had begun in 2001. The news caught fire across the region and even nationwide.
“Artists, fans, everyone realized we really tapped into something special,” Handler said.
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pine Knob: New marquee, anniversary festivities as summer shows loom
