12 don’t-miss spring events in Atlanta

Lauryn Hill. 8 p.m. May 6. Tickets $30-$75. Chastain Park Amphitheatre, 4469 Stella Drive N.W., Atlanta.

Stephanie Mills and Jeffrey Osborne. 6:30 p.m. May 7. $35-$95. Wolf Creek Amphitheatre, 3024 Merk Road S.W., Atlanta. 1-877-725-8849, ticketalternative.com.

Scorpions. 7:30 p.m. May 7. $35-$55 (individual tickets on sale 10 a.m. March 19). Chastain Park Amphitheatre.

Gregg Allman's Laid Back Festival. With ZZ Top, Blackberry Smoke, the Kevn Kinney Band, Michelle Malone, Gabriel Kelley, Stonerider and Jaimoe's Jasssz Band. 4 p.m. May 7. $32-$112. Lakewood Amphitheatre, 2002 Lakewood Way, Atlanta.

The Avett Brothers. 7:30 p.m. May 7. $39.50-$52.50. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park.

Lisa Kelly. 8 p.m. May 7. $35-$65. Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater, 201 McIntosh Trail, Peachtree City. 1-877-725-8849, ticketalternative.com.

Styx. 7:30 p.m. May 15. $29.50-$110.50. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park.

Daryl Hall and John Oates. 7 p.m. May 19. $25-$125. Lakewood Amphitheatre.

Willie Nelson and the Family. 7:30 p.m. May 20. $35-$85. Chastain Park Amphitheatre.

Luke Bryan. 7 p.m. May 20-21. $32.75-$81.50. Lakewood Amphitheatre.

The Monkees 50th Anniversary Tour. 8 p.m. May 21. $45-$100. Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater. 1-877-725-8849, ticketalternative.com.

Atlanta Science Festival. Through March 26. Prices vary. Various locations. atlantasciencefestival.org.

Atlanta Film Festival. April 1-10. Screenings, $10. Ten-day pass, including Atlanta Film Society membership, $50-$800. Various locations. www.Atlantafilmfestival.com.

Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. April 2; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. April 3. Free. Blackburn Park, 3493 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Atlanta. brookcherryfest.org.

Festival on Ponce. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. April 2; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. April 3. Free. Olmsted Linear Park, 1788 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta. Free. festivalonponce.com.

Georgia Renaissance Fesival. 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and Memorial Day. April 16-June 5. $19-$22, adults 13 and older; $8-$10, children 6-12; children 5 and younger free. 6905 Virlyn B. Smith Road, Fairburn. www.Garenfest.com.

Big Shanty Festival. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. April 16; noon-5 p.m. April 17. Free admission. Downtown Kennesaw, 2829 Cherokee St., Kennesaw. Kennesaw.com.

Sandy Springs Artsapalooza. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. April 16; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. April 17. Free. 6100 Lake Forrest Drive, Sandy Springs. sandyspringsartsapalooza.com.

Smyrna Spring Jonquil Festival. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. April 23; noon-5 p.m. April 24. Free admission. Village Green, 2800 King St., Smyrna. www.smyrnacity.com.

Inman Park Festival. Tour of Homes preview: noon-4 p.m. April 29. Tour of Homes: noon-6 p.m. April 30-May 1. Festival: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. April 30-May 1. Free admission for festival. Tour of Homes, $15-$20. Various locations. www.Inmanparkfestival.org.

Snellville Days Festival. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. April 30; noon-5 p.m. May 1. Free. Briscoe Park, 2500 Sawyer Parkway, Snellville. snellvilledays.com.

Sweet Auburn Springfest. 5-9 p.m. May 6; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. May 7; 2-8 p.m. May 8. Free admission. Historic Auburn Avenue District, 230 John Wesley Dobbs Ave., Atlanta. www.Sweetauburn.com.

Chastain Park Arts Festival. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. May 7; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. May 8. Free. Chastain Park, 4469 Stella Drive, Atlanta. chastainparkartsfestival.com.

Dunwoody Art Festival. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. May 7; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 8. Free. Dunwoody Village Parkway, 1449 Dunwoody Village Parkway, Atlanta. dunwoodyartfestival.com.

Barefoot in the Park Arts Festival. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. May 7; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 8. Free. Buford Town Park, 2200 Buford Highway, Buford. barefootinthepark.org.

Mableton Day. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. May 14. Free. Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre, 5239 Floyd Road, Mableton. Mabletonday.com.

Suwanee Arts in the Park. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 14. Free. Suwanee Town Center, 300 Town Center Ave., Suwanee. Suwaneeartsinthepark.com.

Canton Festival of the Arts. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 21-22. Free. Historic Downtown Canton, 94 North St., Canton. cherokeearts.org/festival.

Decatur Arts Festival. 5 p.m. May 27; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. May 28; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. May 29. Free admission. Downtown Decatur, 101 E. Court Square, Decatur. decaturartsfestival.com.

Alpharetta Arts Streetfest. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 28-30. Free. Milton Avenue and Main Street, Alpharetta. alpharetta.ga.us.

There are so many festivals, concerts and other cultural events going on around Atlanta this spring, the choices can be overwhelming. Not to worry. We’ve taken the opportunity to whittle down all the many offerings into a dozen recommended highlights of the season.

“Ethel” and “Born for This”

The Alliance Theatre stages two shows this spring that highlight the careers of two significant singers in two very different genrs. Atlanta actress Terry Burrell stars in a one-woman play about Ethel Waters, a vaudeville star who first recorded “Stormy Weather” and was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in 1949’s “Pinky.” “Born for This: The BeBe Winans Story” is a world premiere musical that chronicles the career of the six-time Grammy Award-winning gospel singer who rose to fame with sister CeCe on Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s “The PTL Club” Christian TV show. Created by BeBe Winans and Charles Randolph-Wright (“Motown the Musical”), the production features new songs as well as familiar songs from the duo’s repertoire.

If you go: "Ethel": March 25-April 17. $15-$35. Alliance Theatre's Hertz Stage. "Born for the This": April 13-May 15. $15-$75. Alliance Theatre. 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-733-4650. Alliancetheatre.org.

Atlanta Film Festival

The Atlanta Film Festival will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year, screening 200 films at locations, including the rooftop of Ponce City Market, the Center for Puppetry Arts and Plaza Theatre. The 10-day festival kicks off April 1 with a screening of "The Fundamentals of Caring," a drama filmed in Atlanta and starring Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez. About 150 filmmakers are expected to attend the festival, which will feature more than 30 films with Atlanta ties.

If you go: April 1-10. $10, screenings, $10. $50-$800, 10-day pass, including Atlanta Film Society membership. Various times and locations. 877-725-8849. www.Atlantafilmfestival.com.

‘I See a Story: The Art of Eric Carle’

This spring the High Museum will stage a retrospective exhibit of the work of Eric Carle, the beloved illustrator of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and many other children’s storybooks. The exhibit was organized by Ellen Keiter, chief curator at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, in Amherst, Mass. Carle, and his distinctive tissue paper collage style, first came to the attention of very young readers with his 1967 book “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?” and images from that book will be part of the exhibit.

If you go: April 2-Jan. 8, 2017. $12-$19.50. The High Museum of Art, 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-733-4400 www.high.org

Atlanta Dogwood Festival

The 80th annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival kicks off April 8. The three-day festival will feature more than 260 craft makers in a juried fine arts market and live performances. In honor of the festival's 80th anniversary, there will be an "'80s party" on April 9 with music from Members Only and Electric Avenue. Indulge in craft beers, wine and barbecue from area restaurants and chefs at Backyard Barbecue & Brews, a ticketed event ($30-$35) on April 8-9.

If you go: Noon-11 p.m. April 8; 10 a.m.-11 p.m. April 9; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. April 10. Free admission. $30-$35, Backyard Barbecue & Brews VIP tickets. Piedmont Park, 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta. 404-817-6642. www.Dogwood.org.)

Sweetwater 420 Festival

Since moving to Centennial Olympic Park two years ago, this three-day gathering has attracted about 75,000 people each year. This year's event – the 12th for the fest — boasts a genre-hopping lineup including Kid Rock, The Roots, Ludacris, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Cypress Hill, Bastille, The Disco Biscuits and about 40 more acts. The size of the festival will remain the same with four stages – a main stage that operates like a turntable and provides two stages on rotation, the Planet 420 stage and the Not-So Silent Disco stage. The 2016 edition of SweetWater 420 will also include the 420 Lyrics and Laughter tent, which will feature local music and local comedians.

If you go: 4:20-11 p.m. April 22; noon-11 p.m. April 23; and noon-10 p.m. April 24. Ticket prices are $42 (single day pass), $123 (general admission three-day pass), $135 (single day VIP) and $338 (VIP three-day pass). Prices will increase to $52-$62, $138, $150 and $378, respectively, as the event gets closer. Centennial Olympic Park, 265 Park Ave. W. N.W., Atlanta. www.sweetwater420fest.com.

Steve Martin and Martin Short

Show-biz veterans Steve Martin and Martin Short are long-time friends who decided to go on tour together to tell jokes and sing songs. Entitled “An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life,” the show features the pair roasting each other and recounting amusing stories about their extensive film careers. Count on Martin to play some bluegrass music and Short to dress up in ridiculous costumes.

If you go: 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. April 24. $50-$225, Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-881-2100, foxtheatre.org.

Beyonce

Always a mistress of surprises, Beyonce dropped the news of her "Formation" tour minutes after her commanding performance with Coldplay during the Super Bowl. The tour, which launches April 27 in Miami, will crisscross the U.S. through June before heading to Europe this summer. This is Queen Bey's first solo tour since 2013's Mrs. Carter Show. In 2014, she and husband Jay Z went "On the Run" for a month and a half of shows that visited the Georgia Dome in July 2014. While fans await a new album, Beyonce whet their appetites with her "Formation" single in February. The song was produced by Atlanta's Mike Will Made It.

If you go: 6 p.m. May 1. $45-$280. Georgia Dome, 1 Georgia Dome Drive N.W., Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000

Paul Simon

At his last Atlanta appearance in 2013, the venerable singer-songwriter captivated a small crowd at Emory University with a couple of intimate performances. Before that, he performed at the ultra-chatty Chastain Park Amphitheatre in 2011. Expect a more respectful crowd at the Fox as Simon travels through his legendary catalog and possibly plays some new material from his upcoming album, "Stranger to Stranger" – his first since 2011's "So Beautiful or So What" – due this spring.

If you go: 8 p.m. May 3. $51-$141. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 1-855-285-8499, www.foxtheatre.org.

‘Romeo and Juliet’

In May the Atlanta Opera performs Charles Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet,” an opera in five acts, sung in French, with supertitles in English. It will feature Jesus Leon in the role of Romeo and Nicole Cabell as Juliet. The production is under the guidance of artistic director Tomer Zvulun, the Atlanta company’s new leader who has boosted the group’s productions and expanded its horizons.

If you go: 8 p.m. May 7; 7:30 p.m. May 10; 8 p.m. May 13; 3 p.m. May 15. Tickets: $25 to $126; Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. 404-881-8885; www.atlantaopera.org

Rhianna

In her recent Vogue cover story, Rihanna lamented that she doesn't have much time to date or exercise (could have fooled us), mostly because she's been channeling so much effort into preparing for this "Anti" world tour to support her album of the same name that arrived in January. Her Atlanta show was originally slated for March but bumped until the end of her U.S. run because of production delays. Count on the Barbadian native to include at least snippets of hits "Umbrella," "Diamonds," "Live Your Life" and "We Found Love." With Travis Scott.

If you go: 7:30 p.m. May 18. $40-$165. Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive, Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.

‘Mayhem’

The Atlanta Ballet’s spring program features the Atlanta premiere of Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s “El Beso,” Yuri Possokhov’s “Classical Symphony” and a world premiere from Guggenheim fellow Andrea Miller. It will be under the direction of Gennadi Nedvigin, a principal dancer from San Francisco Ballet, who became the Atlanta Ballet’s artistic director in February. A native of the Russian city Kamensk, Nedvigin traveled to Atlanta last year to stage Possokhov’s work and found that he and the Atlanta company were a good fit.

If you go: 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, May 20-21, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22.Tickets begin at $25. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, 404-892-3303; www.atlantaballet.com/

— Staff writers Bo Emerson, Rodney Ho, Melissa Ruggieri and Jewel Wicker contributed to this story.