Morris Hayes has it all: candor, a sense of humor, and musical chops that earned him the title of keyboardist, then musical director in Prince's band. He sat down with Purple Current host Sean McPherson for a marathon interview about Prince albums from 1995-2010, plus miscellaneous other stories he remembered as they went. Due to overwhelming demand, we're publishing the full interview album by album.

Leon Bridges joins Brandi Carlile as the only artists this year with two songs hitting #1 on the Chart.

There's a fierce controversy over copyright legislation in Europe, which some artists favor but which some fear will lead to the censoring of memes and other content. Also, Mitski talked at length with Trevor Noah about her new album and 'gendered' criticisms. In other news: a memorial gathering for Mac Miller, an update on Nick Carter rape allegations, new music from Tom Waits, and a first trailer for a music-themed Coen Brothers movie.

The Americana Music Association's festival and conference takes place in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 11 to 16, with the Americana Fest Honors and Awards presentations on Wednesday, Sept. 12. Stream the live program, and look at other coverage of Americana Fest, including social media updates from The Current's Bill DeVille and David Safar.

Funk-pop artist Bruno Mars has been showing up in Minnesota music news quite a bit in the past few days. He kicked off night one of two at the Xcel Energy Center last night (the second performance is tonight at 8) and now there is news circulating about how he’s not playing the role of Prince…

Faced with either extinction or expansion, the Last Revel chose the latter -- and now they're taking giant steps forward with a showcase at Americana Fest and a recording session in Nashville. 'Everything feels brand-new this year, which is really exciting,' says the Last Revel's Ryan Acker.

It's Ben Folds' 52nd birthday so for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that feature some of the best piano players of our time?

A new edition marks the 50th anniversary of 'Country Music USA,' the book regarded as the genre's definitive history.

The Monkees started their series; Michael Jackson started a run at the top of the charts; Johnny Cash died; and Ben Folds was born, Today in Music History. First made famous as the frontman and pianist for Ben Folds Five, Folds went solo in 2000 and has been writing and performing since. Though Ben Folds Five reunited in 2011, his latest album is So There, released in 2015 with the yMusic Ensemble.

Pitchfork has tallied a new list of the best albums of the '80s. In other news: SoundCloud is launching a custom music-discovery playlist to compete with Spotify's popular Discover Weekly, a major music festival has been canceled due to Hurricane Florence, Jack White has announced a live concert film, the Misfits are teasing a reunion, and a new Nicki Minaj video casts popular rappers as puppets.