Best of the week: Mumford & Sons, 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Musical,' Lizz Wright, Bleached, Earth Day, more

What a wait it's been to hear "I Will Wait" again. After quickly ascending from the 400 Bar to the Varsity and First Avenue from 2009 to 2010, Mumford & Sons have been much slower coming to the Twin Cities on their arena tours. The hard-strumming British folk-rock troupe's first local date since 2013 comes a year after the release of their gone-electric third album, "Wilder Mind." Rousing, rockier new songs such as "The Wolf" and "Believe" sound like they were made for big concerts like this. chris riemenschneider

7:30 p.m. Thu., Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, $40-$60, ticketmaster.com

In her Twin Cities appearance last fall, luxuriously dark-voiced alto Lizz Wright, a gospel/soul/jazz/blues marvel, and her band grooved on tunes from the new album "Freedom & Surrender." Produced by Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Peyroux), it's Wright's first collection of mostly originals (co-written with Jesse Harris, Klein and others) and includes a knockout interpretation of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody."

jon bream

7 p.m Tue. Dakota Jazz Club, Mpls., $40-$55, dakotacooks.com

Writer Jeff Kinney's popular and funny graphic novels about the social positioning of the middle-school set have received three film treatments. Now, they're getting a stage adaptation in the world premiere of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Musical," with a book by Kevin Del Aguila, and music and lyrics by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler. Rachel Rockwell stages this capstone show in the Children's Theatre's 50th anniversary season.

rohan preston

One of the buzzingest bands of the Los Angeles rock scene right now, Bleached harks back to L.A.'s classic pioneering women bands, the Go-Go's and especially the Runaways, but with a modern whir-rock bend that also hews toward Best Coast and Silversun Pickups. This catchy trio is in breakout mode with its infectious but riotous sophomore record, "Welcome the Worms," produced by Strokes and White Stripes collaborator Joe Chiccarrelli.

chris riemenschneider

9 p.m. Sat., 7th Street Entry, Mpls., $12, first-avenue.com

In the 1960s, male artists of the Fluxus movement took to attacking pianos in "performances" during which they axed, sawed and otherwise vandalized keyboards. Then in 2014, artist Andrea Büttner called out this adolescent shock-jockery by juxtaposing their videos with a performance by nine female pianists gracefully playing Chopin and other Romantic-era composers. The Walker has restaged that confrontation in a poignantly lyrical battle of the videos.

mary abbe

Dancer Florencia Vecino, accompanied by DJ Mauro Ap, brings her laser focus and almost trance-like performance of Colombian choreographer Luis Garay's solo piece "Maneries," a show that uses no props, no video and, in part, no clothes. The piece borrows its title from philosopher Giorgio Agamben — as Garay describes it, "maneries" is a "place, like a fountain, from where all possible forms emanate."

sheila regan

8 p.m. Thu.-Sat., Walker Art Center, Mpls., $18-$22, walkerart.org

Pay homage to Mother Nature and the planet with a variety of Earth Day activities, including a walking parade, crafts and games. Take a guided tour of the Harriet Alexander Nature Center's new boardwalk, and check out the new display cabinets. Do a little planting to entice butterflies, and hear music by Will Hale and the Tadpole Parade. Guests receive free seed packets to help add a little curb appeal to their homes.

melissa walker

Full Circle Theater, founded by five veteran Twin Cities artists — James A. Williams, Martha Johnson, Lara Trujillo, Stephanie Lein Walseth and Rick Shiomi — launched itself last fall with a show called "Theater: A Sacred Passage." The production used storytelling, dance and music to chart the principals' journeys to the stage. It will be revived briefly next weekend.

rohan preston

7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. next Sun., Dreamland Arts, 677 Hamline Av. N., St. Paul. $5-$15. 651-645-5506, dreamlandarts.com

How good is your memory?  The Nebraska-based Chiara String Quartet plays without scores, memorizing thousands of notes with the goal of liberating the musical imagination, and making for fresher, more viscerally communicative performances. Judge for yourself, as they play quartets by Bartok, Brahms and Gabriela Lena Frank, with nary a music stand in evidence.

terry blain