California siblings band Echosmith are some of the cooler kids on this year's "Sampler" charity CD by Cities 97. / Photo by Jonathan Weiner (Jonathan Weiner/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Cities 97's 'Sampler, Vol. 27' to feature O.A.R., Echosmith and online presale
A limited quantity of the annual charity CDs will be available for online pre-order for the first time this year.
October 27, 2015 at 5:38PM
For the first time in many years, Cities 97 listeners won't have to rush out to their neighborhood Target store at 8 a.m. to be among the first to hold the latest "Sampler" CD.
The 27th installment of the station's charity album – featuring live studio or concert tracks by Echosmith, Mat Kearny, Nate Ruess, Walk the Moon, O.A.R. and a dozen more -- will be available via an early pre-order sale at Cities97.com at 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, four days before the Nov. 17 on-sale date in Target stores. Only 5,000 of the 20,000 total copies of the CD will be sold online, though.
In recent years, the "Sampler" CDs have been slower to sell out, but their impact in the community remains strong. This year's edition is expected to raise $660,000 for a variety of local charities, bringing the all-time total to $12 million. That includes a $1 from every CD this year that goes directly to Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.
The tracklist for "Sampler, Vol. 27" has been revealed over the past week on air. Here's the final list, including about half of the lineup from this year's Basilica Block Party (Ruess, Echosmith, O.A.R., Kearney, Rachel Platten) and many relative newcomers favored by the iHeartMedia-owned station (Walk the Moon, Vance Joy, Meiko, Elle King):
1. Rachel Platten – Fight Song
2. Matt Hires – Hold You Up
3. Vance Joy – Riptide
4. ZZ Ward – Love 3X
5. Walk the Moon – Shut Up and Dance
6. O.A.R. – Peace
7. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness – Cecilia and the Satellite
8. Jamie Scott – Story of My Life
9. Colbie Caillat – Try
10. Sheppard – Geronimo
11. Elle King – Ex's and Oh's
12. Mat Kearney – Billion
13. Echosmith – Bright
14. Nate Ruess – Great Big Storm
15. Meiko – Be Mine
16. Nick Fradiani – Beautiful Life
17. Leona Lewis – Thunder
ZZ Ward will be back in town to head up the "Sampler" release party at Myth nightclub on Nov. 19, tickets for which will be given out on air. A Great Big World, Gavin James and the Score will also perform.
