Cities 97.1 gives back to local charities during the holidays, continuing Sampler's legacy

MINNEAPOLIS — It was a holiday tradition for 30 years in the Twin Cities: The Cities 97.1 Sampler.

The CDs filled with live-in-studio recordings from some of music's biggest artists were a phenomenon.

Music fans would line up outside local Target stores for hours to pick up the new volume featuring the music with a mission.

The proceeds of each limited release were donated to Twin Cities charities.

While the Sampler is retired — its giving legacy lives on in a different form.

Being in tune with listeners and the communities they serve has been key to making Cities 97.1 as their slogan states, "Uniquely Twin Cities" for close to 40 years.

"It was like nothing I've ever been a part of in my career," said Paul Fletcher, Cities 97.1 morning co-host.

That's how Fletcher describes the Cities 97.1 Sampler.

"We have an all hands on deck. Morning of the Sampler, you need to be at Target at Southdale at 4 a.m. You get there and there's already hundreds of people in line already," explained Fletcher.

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From 1989 to 2018, Cities 97.1 sold the CDs each holiday season. They contained intimate performances recorded in the station's "Studio C" from major artists like the Fray, Adele and Imagine Dragons.

"It was day one of Basilica Block Party 2012 which turned out to be their coming out party. They did 'It's Time' which is their first single. And they did a song called 'Destination.' They were like, 'We're going to do a new one' and I'm like, ok cool. It never appeared anywhere. If you have that sampler with "Destination" on it, I haven't found a recording of it anywhere else," said Fletcher. 

In all, 30 volumes of the Sampler were produced. We asked morning co-hosts Fletcher and Naima to guess how many songs were released in all.

"I'm going to say, and I'm really rubbish and competitive, but I'm going to say 500," guessed Naima.

"I'm going to go 750," added Fletcher.

The actual number is 513 songs — 520 if you include seven digital downloads offered exclusively to frequent listener club members.

The samplers were a win with local charities as they got the proceeds from the 30 to 40,000 copies sold each year.

Among them is Every Meal, a non-profit that fights childhood hunger.

"It started back in 2016 when we were the recipient of the Cities 97.1 Sampler album proceeds," said Elizabeth Lindback, development officer for Every Meal.

That support for Every Meal and other community partners continues even after the final CDs were sold in 2018 as "Cities 97.1 Gives Back" took its place.

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"Maybe it's not a collection of songs anymore that raises money for charity but the spirit of it is still there. One hundred percent," said Fletcher.

The station uses its airtime and social media presence to get the word out about these good works.

"It's just really nice to highlight those charities for six weeks. What they do, how you can get involved. In a way, it's continuing the tradition," said Naima.

Every Meal was a beneficiary again at a crucial time following a record need in 2022.

"This year we were trying to stay ahead of that need. We knew that there was going to be a really sharp increase in students that were asking for our weekend meal program so that's why we instituted the million-dollar match ahead of it in the summer. Having 'Cities' help and recognition of that and spreading awareness was huge," Lindback said.

After five years, could the Cities 97.1 Sampler make a comeback?

"I don't even know if I can answer that without getting trouble," laughed Fletcher.

"Never say never. You can never predict the future," added Naima. 

If you know of a local non-profit that should be featured on Cities 97.1 Gives Back, you can nominate them on the radio station's website.