Take it outside: Concerts and performances are popping up outdoors all over Philly

The city is buzzing again with foot traffic as friends meet up at beer gardens and on restaurant patios. And now — to make your day or night on the town a full one — Philly’s musicians, actors, dancers, and other performers are staging shows all over the wide outdoors, for in-person audiences of actual people.

From a drive-in production of a play to indie concerts and modern-dance pop-ups, here are dozens of performances that are scheduled to entertain you alfresco across the region this spring:

Nocturne (Theater / drive-in / mulitday). Walter DeShields stars as the narrator in EgPo Classic Theater’s drive-in production of Adam Rapp’s play about a former music prodigy recalling a family tragedy of 15 years earlier. Takes place in a parking lot at Sedgley Avenue across from Reyburn Park, with actors’ voices transmitted through cars’ FM radios. Tickets: $35, $60, $75 per car, depending on number of occupants. Information: ($35-$75 per car, May 4-9, 8 p.m., across from Reyburn Park, 22nd Street and Lehigh Avenue, egpo.com/nocturne)

“Tosca” at the Mann Center (Music / multiday). Opera Philadelphia debuts its specially commissioned 90-minute adaptation, The Drama of Tosca, with a cast reduced to three singing characters. Ana María Martínez sings Tosca, baritone Quinn Kelsey is Scarpia, and tenor Brian Jagde makes his company debut as Cavaradossi. Charlotte Blake Alston narrates. No sets, but the production features an orchestra of about 65 players on stage and a 40-voice chorus in the balcony, all led by conductor Corrado Rovaris for a socially distanced and greatly reduced audience. ($75-$150, 7 p.m. May 5, 8 p.m. May 7., 2 p.m. May 9., Mann Center, 5201 Parkside Ave., 215-732-8400, operaphila.org)

Ron Gallo (Music). Back from Nashville with the rocking new release Peacemeal, Gallo is one of the highlights of Human Robot Brewing Co.’s series at Sunflower Philly, an open-air space in Kensington. The newly born Philly psychedelic rock supergroup Electric Candlelight is the next big Sunflower show, on May 21. Other dates of note: Tom Petty Appreciation Society on May 7, Lady HD on June 10, and Ali Awan on June 18. $12, ($20, May 6, 5 p.m., 1725 N. Fifth St., 215-236-0237, sunflowerphilly.org)

Murder by Gaslight (Theater / walking tour / kid-friendly / multiday). This walking tour plays out a Victorian murder mystery every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All shows are family-friendly, but the 6 p.m. Sunday show is particularly geared to children and families. ($20, Fridays-Saturdays 7 and 8 p.m., Sundays 6 and 7 p.m., Liberty Bell, 526 Market St., withoutacue.com)

Sybarite5 (Music). Works of Radiohead, Kenji Bunch, Daniel Bernard Roumain, and Astor Piazzolla are on the program when this string quintet visits the Music Barn pavilion as part of the Music at Bunker Hill series. Hear the concert live May 8 and/or online starting May 9 (ticket sales end on concert date). ($25 for adults, $12 for children under 13, May 8, 2:30 p.m. the Music Barn, N.J. 77, Mullica Hill, musicatbunkerhill.org)

» READ MORE: These are the shows that Philly theater insiders can’t wait to see this spring

Love Tour Stop: Black Femme Magic with LaNeshe Miller-White (Performance / free)). Miller-White, executive director of Theatre Philadelphia and cofounder of Theatre in the X, teams up with the Bearded Ladies Cabaret and its “Beardmobile” for this pop-up performance. Bring your own chair or blanket. Entrance and street parking at 49th Street and Botanical Avenue. Tickets: Free, but donations may be made on Venmo @beardedladiescabaret or, for tax-deductible donations, through PayPal at paypal.me/BeardedLadiesCabaret. (Free, donations encouraged, May 15, 2 p.m., Bartram’s Garden, 5400 Lindbergh Blvd., bit.ly/beardmobilelaneshe)

BalletX pop-ups (Dance / free). BalletX has been pushing the envelope in filmed dance performance with its nationally acclaimed BalletX Beyond series. Now the company reconnects with live audiences for a free, half-hour pop-up performance outside FringeArts headquarters. They’ll do another one 6 p.m. June 2 at Dilworth Park. Registration required for the FringeArts show. (Free, May 20, 5:30 p.m. FringeArts Haas Beirgarten, 140 N. Christopher Columbus Blvd., balletx.org/event/pop-up-at-fringearts)

Project Moshen (Dance). A Night in Moshen is the first live performance from this all-female company since 2019. They’ll be dancing outside in Fort Washington. ($20, May 22, 5:30 p.m., outside of the Institute of Dance Artistry, 400 Commerce Dr., Fort Washington, projectmoshen.com)

Music & Stories with Text Rich Ali (Music / kid-friendly / free). Music educator Text Rich Ali leads this month’s edition of Griot Tale Saturdays, a presentation of the African American Museum in Philadelphia and Franklin Square that takes place in the square on the fourth Saturday of every month, and honors a tradition of passing on culture and history through storytelling and music. Later this summer, Keepers of the Culture commemorate and celebrate Juneteenth and Independence Day with a Griot Tale event 1 p.m. June 26. (Free, with social distancing. May 22, 1-2 p.m., Franklin Square, 200 N. Sixth St., aampmuseum.org/calendar)

The Lady Hoofers celebrate National Tap Dance Day (Dance / free). This winter, the great Philly tap troupe made the season jolly with its virtual Nutcracker adaptation, The Tapcracker at Home. This month’s live, hour-long performance serves up a different program of company favorites and new repertory that should be equally great. They also perform free 6 p.m. June 30 at Dilworth Park. (Free, May 23, 5 p.m., Clark Park, 4300-4398 Baltimore Ave., ladyhoofers.org)

Molly Tuttle (Music). Nashville guitarist and banjo player Molly Tuttle is a dazzling picker who was named International Bluegrass Association guitar player of the year in both 2017 and 2018. She is playing the Arden Gild Hall’s socially distanced outdoor Shady Grove stage. ($30, May 25, 5 p.m., 2126 The Hwy, Wilmington, 302-475-3126, ardenconcerts.com)

BalletX at Glen Foerd (Dance / multiday). The company’s first full-length live performance in more than a year will be held on the grounds of the historic mansion, with world premieres by Alia Kache and R. Colby Damon. ($75, limited to 75 people per performance, May 25-26, 6:30 p.m., Glen Foerd, 5001 Grant Ave., for details email boxoffice@balletx.org or call 215-225-5389)

Circus Midway (Theater / free). Free workshops and pop-up performances by the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts at the La Peg Biergarten, FringeArts, . Part of the Hand to Hand Circus Festival, a two-week event that features both outdoor performances and socially distanced indoor ones. Information and tickets: (Free, June 2, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., FringeArts, 140 N. Christopher Columbus Blvd., fringearts.com)

The Crossing “Month of Moderns” (Music / multiday). The choir led by Donald Nally takes its popular festival outdoors this year with three programs in June. The singers return to Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve in New Hope June 3-6 for The Forest by Nally and Kevin Vondrak. The Woodlands in West Philadelphia is the setting for the premiere with Ars Nova Workshop of Matana Roberts’ we got time June 11-13. And, on June 18 and 19 at Awbury Arboretum in Germantown, the choir premieres Wang Lu’s At which point. The concerts are being copresented with the Annenberg Center. Tickets on sale May 11. (Various dates and locations in June, 215-898-3900, crossingchoir.org)

“Sites of Dance” at Drexel (Dance / multiday). This guided-tour performance will lead audience members to site-specific student choreography danced by the Drexel Dance Ensemble and FreshDance at several campus spots, including the volleyball court and the Alumni Garden. The recorded Dance Film Concert will screen at the Yard at the URBN Annex after each day’s performance. BYO blanket. ($15, $5 Drexel students, June 3-6, 6:30 p.m. Drexel University campus, 3141 Chestnut St., https://drexel.edu/performingarts/performances-events/upcoming-events)

Low Cut Connie (Music) Along with guitarist Will Donnelly, piano pounding Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie has been a pandemic star, with a twice weekly Tough Cookies live stream from his South Philly house. This live broadcast is from the Arden Gild Hall’s Shady Grove stage. ($30, June 5, 5 p.m., 2126 The Hwy, Wilmington, 302-475-3126, ardenconcerts.com)

Philadanco (Dance / free). The acclaimed Philadelphia troupe’s main company and Danco 2, the junior company, will both perform in a free program as part of Dilworth Park’s Arts on Center Stage series. Other June performances in the series include a Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia concert June 16 and a Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra performance June 23. (Free, June 6, 6 p.m., Dilworth Park, 1 S. 15th St., philadanco.org)

Take 6 (Music / multiday) Take 6, the a cappella sextet who Quincy Jones once called the “baddest vocal cats on the planet,” are doing two shows outdoors at Bristol Riverside Theatre. The eight-time Grammy winners’ performance is part of a Summer Music Fest schedule that also includes Broadway and 1970s and 1980s theme nights. ($55, June 11-12, 8 p.m., 2501 Bath Road, Bristol, 215-785-0100, brtstage.org)

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia at Stoneleigh (Music / multiday). The chamber orchestra plays traditional repertoire — Vivaldi, Telemann, Mozart — at the former Haas family estate in Villanova, now a public garden. All three concerts are conductor-less, with violinist Luigi Mazzocchi as concertmaster leading most works. Ticket prices ($30-$95) are pegged to amenities ranging from bring-your-own-blanket to comfy-chair-provided, ($30-$95, June 13 and 27 and July 11, Stoneleigh, 1829 County Line Rd, Villanova, 610-353-5587, ext. 221, chamberorchestra.org)

Daniel Donato (Music / free) The Atlantic City-born guitarist is now a Nashville-based young hotshot, a 25-year-old master of the Telecaster who released his A Young Man’s Country album last summer and is headlining Exton’s outdoor concert series. (Free, June 22, 7 p.m., 565 Wellington Square, Exton, 610-458-1900, eagleviewtowncenter.com)

Clyde Evans and Friends (Dance / kid-friendly / free). The Evvolution of Hip-Hop is a free, family-friendly program that traces hip-hop dance from the 1960s to today. You’ll be able to get up and learn some movements and how they fit into the history of the form. (Free, June 26, 2 p.m., Suburban Square, 49 St Georges Rd., Ardmore, 610-896-7560, suburbansquare.com)