Pine Knob Music Theatre (formerly DTE Energy Music Theatre) is an outdoor amphitheater located in Independence Township, Michigan, approximately northwest of Detroit (it has a Clarkston, Michigan mailing address). Built by the Nederlander Organization in the early 1970s, it is known as "Pine Knob Music Theatre" due to its proximity to the nearby Pine Knob ski area and golf course. Palace Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Detroit Pistons and operates Meadow Brook Amphitheatre, purchased the amphitheater in 1990. Annually, it ranks among the top-selling outdoor concert venues in the world and has won dozens of awards in the industry, including Pollstar's Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue (2000), Billboard's Top Amphitheater for attendance (2011) and Pollstar's Top Amphitheater Venue Worldwide for total tickets sold (2011, 2019). History The amphitheater held its grand opening on June 25, 1972, with a matinee performance by teen idol David Cassidy. Andy Williams performed the first evening concert two nights later. At the time of its opening, Pine Knob was the largest amphitheater in the United States with a capacity of 12,500. One of the features of the first years of Pine Knob was the entrance way to the amphitheater. Long cement retaining walls that cut through the hill/lawn were professionally hand-painted with the logos of every artist or group that had performed there. The walls were filled in and replaced by stairs and more lawn seating during the early 1980s, thus increasing the amphitheater's capacity to more than 15,000. The original sound system was novel in its day, a huge theatrical performance system designed for an outdoor theater with a custom console and large-array distributed speaker system. On November 29, 1990, Palace Sports & Entertainment purchased Pine Knob and spent $8 million on renovations. Included in the upgrades were video screens in the pavilion. In 1995, additional video screens were installed in the pavilion's roof for spectators to see from the lawn. On January 25, 2001, Palace Sports & Entertainment announced that the venue's name would be changed to DTE Energy Music Theatre. The deal was worth an average of $1 million per year over a 10-year term. Before the 2012 season, the amphitheater received a new audio system – the Meyer MILO Line Array sound system. The amphitheater was also redesigned with forest green colors, new signage, expanded food options and a new open-air beer garden called The Pine Tap. Many musicians have