Best outdoor concerts in the Triangle this spring at venues big and small

It's that perfect time of year in the Triangle, when the pollen is gone but the humidity has yet to smother us.

• It's a magical combination for getting outside and listening to music.

Here are some of the best outdoor concerts coming to the Triangle in the next few weeks:

🍄 This weekend: Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival returns to Pittsboro, with sets by perennial favorite Donna the Buffalo, as well as Durham's Shirlette Ammons and the Puerto Rican group Chuwi.

🎹 May 12: Kid Cudi is playing Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek. M.I.A. got booted from the tour this week and rapper Big Boi is opening.

🎤 May 16: Doug E. Fresh headlines Bimbe Cultural Arts Festival in Durham.

🎸 May 19: Sting, the English frontman of the Police, brings his tour to Red Hat Amphitheater.

🐶 May 19: Pit Bull and special guest Lil Jon join forces for a show at Walnut Creek.

🤘 May 30: Indie rock legends Young the Giant and Cold War Kids play Red Hat with Almost Monday.

🪘 June 5: Dave Matthews Band is at Walnut Creek. Brush up on the group's extensive catalogue before you go.

☀️ June 6: Khalid performs a Saturday night set at Red Hat.

🆓 What else: Several free outdoor concert series are worth checking out, too, including in downtown Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Research Triangle Park, and Durham's Central Park and American Tobacco Campus.