The days are getting longer, the weather is mercurial and wet and you’re not sure which jacket to wear. It’s finally spring in Chicago, and suddenly the city’s cultural calendar is packed with things to do. This season brings a ton of options, from pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo to an orchestral version of Batman to the classic opera Aida.

We’ve sifted through the offerings to bring you this bucket list of sorts. If you want to take in some music, dance, art or another live performance, here’s your guide to what’s happening.

MUSIC

Catch a pop phenom in a big arena

The GUTS World Tour is Olivia Rodrigo’s first arena tour. The 21-year-old pop artist shot to fame with her 2021 album SOUR, which won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2022. Her follow-up album, GUTS, was released last fall and earned her a couple Grammy nominations this year. Next week, she’ll play the United Center, bringing fellow pop artist Chappell Roan with her. Tickets are sold out but available for resale on sites like Stubhub. March 19-20, the United Center, 1901 W. Madison St.

Or, go under-the-radar with great shows in smaller venues

Want to see some top-notch music in a smaller setting? WBEZ contributor Mark Guarino has this list of concerts happening in March, including Detroit rapper Danny Brown on March 20 at Metro. 3730 N. Clark St.; tickets from $28.50. Or Sleater-Kinney on March 21 at the Riviera Theatre. 4746 N. Racine Ave.; tickets from $39.

See a rising classical music star at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

On the CSO’s spring lineup is a three-show weekend with one of classical music’s rising stars. Klaus Mäkelä — the 28-year-old who has been called “perhaps the fastest-rising conductor of his generation” — will conduct the performances featuring Argentine cellist Sol Gabetta. Piano phenom Yuja Wang was scheduled to appear and perform Bartók’s Second Piano Concerto, but the CSO announced on March 29 that she had withdrawn from the performances. April 4-6, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; tickets from $55.

Or, see an established star when Yo-Yo Ma returns to town on Sunday, April 7. Tickets from $125.

Visit Gotham with a live, orchestral-led screening of Batman

You’re invited to take a trip to Gotham City, circa 1989. The occasion? It’s been 35 years since the release of Tim Burton’s Batman, featuring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. In honor of the anniversary, the Chicago Philharmonic will perform the score live as the movie plays in a one-night-only show. To really indulge in the occasion, audience members are encouraged to dress up as their favorite DC superhero. April 13, Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive; tickets from $69.

THEATER

Score tickets to a show that takes immersive theater seriously

The Albany Park Theater Project is reprising its show Port of Entry, which originally opened last summer and had a sold-out run. In a collaboration with Third Rail Projects, the theater company transformed a commercial building on the city’s Northwest Side to tell the stories of four immigrant families. Audiences walk through the story, entering the three-story apartment complex constructed for the show. The two-hour, immersive experience is back this spring, although audience sizes are limited to 28 people per show. The run is currently sold out, but there’s a weekly standby list for last-minute tickets. Through June 15, 3547 W. Montrose Ave.; ticket information.

Be the first to see a new play directed by Phylicia Rashad

Tony Award-winning Rashad — perhaps best known for playing Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show — directs the world premiere of Purpose, from Brooklyn playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The show, billed as an epic family drama, follows the fictitious Jasper family while exploring themes of relationships, faith and Black American politics. “I love the characters and the revelation of who they are through their interaction with one another,” Rashad told WBEZ of the script. “I love it, because it’s life. And that’s what theater is. Theater is life.” March 14-April 28, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St; tickets from $46.

DANCE

Spring for a ticket to see a dance superstar

The other artistic disciplines spread out their hits across the seasons, but in dance, the pinnacle season is spring. Chicago is back on the touring calendar for some of the country’s top companies, notably New York City Ballet, which will bring some of American ballet’s biggest stars to dance in classics (George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins) and more contemporary danceworks (Justin Peck, Christopher Wheeldon) to the Harris Theatre for five performances in March. March 20-23, Harris Theater Chicago, 205 E. Randolph St.; tickets from $55.

A favorite here, New York’s Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater makes its 55th annual stop at the Auditorium Theatre in April. Knowing its audience, the company has designed a smart trio of programs: favorites, new works and classics. So fans of the classic Revelations can see the storied modern dance number, while others craving more contemporary works (Kyle Abraham, Alonzo King) are rewarded with an evening full of Midwest premieres. April 17-21, Auditorium Theater; tickets from $40.

Punch your local dance card

Touring companies aside, don’t sleep on Chicago’s burgeoning contemporary scene. The Black-led contemporary company Red Clay is reigniting its La Femme Dance Festival, a three-day biennial celebration of women in dance that this year delivers two world premieres. A highlight is a fireside chat (March 14) and masterclass for professional dancers (March 15) with choreographer Fatima Robinson, who has moved everyone from Aaliyah to Beyoncé to Hollywood directors. March 14 at the Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario St.; March 15 at Red Clay’s Dance Center for Excellence, 808 E. 63rd St.; March 16 at the Harris Theater Chicago. Tickets from $25 to $200 for a festival pass.

In its new riverfront studio theater in Avondale, Visceral Dance Chicago will premiere a trio of new works from acclaimed Spanish choreographer Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, the former director of Luna Negra; New York-based choreographer Roderick George; and company founder Nick Pupillo in a program called Springeleven. Through March 17, 3121 N. Rockwell St.; tickets from $25.

And in April, choreographer Kimberly Baker will channel the bizarre world of artist Salvador Dalí into a full-length dance performance set to the music of composer Joshua Loveland. Dalí: Surrealist Symphony of Dance will feature 10 dancers in an athletic combo of “ethereal” contemporary and ballet. April 19-20, Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St.; tickets are $25.

ART

Experience Chicago’s art scene on its highest-profile platform yet

Now in the spring, EXPO is the biggest week of the year for Chicago’s visual art scene. But 2024 takes things to a whole new level. This year’s event is the first under the banner of the London-based Frieze, which organizes art fairs around the world and acquired Chicago’s EXPO last summer. Expect nearly 200 modern and contemporary galleries to set up shop in Navy Pier’s Festival Hall for an international list of curators, buyers and a curious public. Programming includes on-site installations, talks and public art displays. The festivities stretch beyond the Pier to galleries in Chicago’s neighborhoods. April 11-14, Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.; tickets from $35.

View the work of a local living legend in Hyde Park

The “United Colors of Robert Earl Paige” features works created between 1964 and 2024. Paige, a Woodlawn resident who was raised in the neighborhood, is an artist, educator and designer known for his textile designs and painted fabrics. The upcoming exhibition is Paige’s largest solo show to date and features his noted fabric work, along with debuting recent paintings, clay and collage works. Reception 1-4 p.m. April 6. On view April 6-Oct. 27, Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave.; free.

Pop in to see free art downtown

The Chicago Cultural Center recently announced a fresh slate of exhibitions opening this spring that prominently feature local artists. “Braiding Histories” showcases the mixed media works of Chicago-based artist Victoria Martinez, who uses materials like enamel, paint, hosiery and bricks to weigh in on “the body, the urban environment, architecture and graffiti.” April 6-July 28, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.; free.

Other upcoming exhibits at the center include “Images on which to build, 1970s-1990s,” which features photos of queer grassroots organizing. April 20-Aug. 4. And “Opening Passages: Artists Respond to Chicago and Paris,” May 4-Aug. 25.

OPERA

See a classic opera in the Loop: Aida

Aida, the classic tragic opera by Giuseppe Verdi, returns to the stage at Lyric Opera. Billed as “opera at its grandest,” Aida is a feast both visually and sonically. Music director Enrique Mazzola, a noted expert of Verdi’s work, will conduct. Through April 7, Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive; tickets from $59.

Take a chance on a new kind of opera

FORCE! an opera in three acts is a “black femme story of interior lives and shared fantasies,” according to the creators. The show, which has been workshopped around town but will have its official premiere at MCA, features a live band that blends gospel, folk, pop and jazz, along with experimental dance, song and spoken word. The show was created by multimedia artist Anna Martine Whitehead and composed by Ayanna Woods. March 28-30, Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; tickets from $30, student discount available.

OTHER

Slam poetry alongside some of the city’s most talented teens

A rite of passage for budding young local poets and the largest event of its kind in the United States, the annual Rooted & Radical Youth Poetry Festival is a multiweekend competition that builds to an energetic grand finale. Participating high school and middle school students perform their original work, either solo or in a group, for panels of judges. The final showcase of the festival, put on by the Young Chicago Authors, moves this year to a new venue: the newly reopened Ramova Theatre in Bridgeport, which counts Chicago wordsmith Chance the Rapper among its myriad co-owners. March 22, Ramova Theatre, 3520 S. Halsted St.; tickets from $10.

Savor the city’s reemerging late night eats scene

The COVID-19 pandemic put the brakes on the city’s late-night dining scene, but thankfully, there’s now a revival underway. Whether you’re coming from a show or just starting your night, here are nearly a dozen great options for food after 10 p.m., from tacos in Uptown at Cariño to the darling of the late-night eats world, Warlord in Avondale. And hey, don’t sleep on the classics: Wieners Circle is always there for you — well, at least until 4 a.m.