Kat Sutherland channeled her own experiences of attending concerts at the Pine Knob Music Theatre to create the poster for the venue’s 2024 season.

In creating the piece — chosen from 19 submissions as part of a partnership competition between 313 Presents and Detroit’s College For Creative Studies (CCS), now in its second year — the Rochester Hills resident says, “I really wanted to emphasize the human experience and warmth felt when attending one of your favorite concerts.” The yellow, orange and green illustration — Southerland’s first-ever poster — features smiling concertgoers, arms upraised, underneath a listing of the 47 shows slated for Pine Knob this summer.

“It’s supposed to represent the lawn in the summer, with the sun setting behind you just as the show begins — which is something I’ve personally enjoyed about the venue,” Sutherland, 22, explains. “I wanted to capture that feeling of the happiness in a community that concerts are.”

Sutherland’s own experience at Pine Knob (previously the DTE Energy Music Theatre) began with a Journey concert she attended with a friend’s family as a teenager. She also checked out a co-bill of Chicago and REO Speedwagon, as well as a 2019 performance by Florence & the Machine, a personal favorite, and one of the Lumineers’ recent Pine Knob shows.

“I think music is definitely in that same artistic realm,” Sutherland says. “It’s definitely inspired a lot of artistic pieces.”

The daughter of an engineer (Sutherland’s younger sister is studying electrical engineering now at the University of Michigan), she came to art early. “Most artists say they started drawing when they were old enough to hold a pencil — that’s how it was for me,” says Sutherland, a Rochester High School alumna who’s also “a big bookworm” away from her creative tools. “Sometimes I feel like the art gene came out of nowhere. I think it’s just the freedom you can have with art to just express not only yourself but the stories of other people.

“The main thing that has always drawn me to art is the ability to tell stories with it, whether they’re real stories with real people and experience or a fantasy world that takes you away from real life.”

Sutherland graduated from CCS on May 9 with a degree in illustration, and she’s become particularly interested in animation, with a specialty in creating backgrounds. She’s currently looking for a job — “There are so many things you can do with visual development,” she notes — and is continuing to develop her portfolio, including an independent animation project that involves fellow CCS alumni and students as well as those from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

She also hopes to be out at Pine Knob on June 6, when the poster will be given away free to those attending that night’s Hootie & the Blowfish concert.

“It’s very surreal,” Sutherland acknowledges. “I’ve never had an opportunity like this to get my name out there, so it’s very exciting. It’s just been great to have this opportunity.”