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Most people reading this column won’t remember what Classic Rock stations sounded like in the mid-eighties when Fred Jacobs launched the format, and it began picking up steam and stations across the country.

The Beatles were a dominant core artist, and there were special features like The Soul Patrol. A lot has changed since then, not the least of which is that the original audience for the format has aged beyond the 25-54 demo cell, creating challenges for stations in both ratings and revenue.

When I agreed to start a weekly column for Barrett Media focused on the Classic Rock and Classic Hits formats, I knew that the topic of dealing with an aging audience would be an important one that I would have to address. I did not, however, expect to write about it in week one.

Then the legendary Classic Rock station KQRS/Minneapolis took the airstaff off and began stunting, saying the station was “under construction.” After talking with Cumulus Format VP – Alternative/AAA/Classic Rock James Kurdziel about the changes at the station, I figured it was time to dive in.

Looking at the 6+ ratings for the last few months, KQRS appears to have been doing fine, if not stellar: 5.1, 4.2, 4.1, 4.7. According to Kurdziel, the problem wasn’t a lack of audience at KQRS. ” It isn’t bad ratings; it’s the wrong ratings. The audience KQ had in 1995 is the audience we have now, and that’s not great in the long term.”  He said if the station didn’t evolve, it would have eventually withered.

Instead of taking a slower, longer-term approach and making small adjustments, the team decided to be “bold and declarative,” with a big attention-getting stunt and a sweeping change in the product. Part of that decision was in deference to the brand, “KQRS heritage is in evolution and taking chances. We’re just leaning into it,” says Kurdziel. “I tell people here, we’re not changing what we are; we’re changing what we do.“

Those changes included evolving the music and leaving older titles behind while adding music from the 1990s and 2000s – an area where most Classic Rock stations are still treading lightly. “The truth is an entire decade-plus (90s and 2000s) has been ignored by this format, and that music is hitting a maturation phase now. We need to capitalize on that, and doing it under a legacy brand umbrella helps.”

More specifically, Kurdziel describes the target audience, which includes himself. “We’re Gen X/millennial, and to us, Led Zeppelin is still cool; Tom Petty has become universally revered; Pink Floyd has cool songs; and artists like that remain an important part of what we’re doing.” He says those types of songs meld well with 90s music “because that’s what we did then when we were kids burning CDs. Every Pearl Jam fan loves The Who.”

To put the music changes into perspective, two months ago, the most-played artists on a typical day on KQRS were the Classic Rock staples: Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and Journey. On the first day of the new format, the artists receiving the most play include U2, Pearl Jam, The Police, and REM, with Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, and Queen mixed in.

The adjustments are not solely music-focused. The talent lineup has been revamped, but it still starts with morning host and former Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman, whom Kurdziel calls the station’s secret weapon. He says many of the messages they received from the audience when the station first began stunting all started with “Gorman better be OK,” which was a great sign. “The audience showed they are very protective of Steve.”

Two new additions to the station airstaff come from the AAA and non-commercial world, possibly signaling a little more about the station’s musical direction. Former KTCZ/Cities 97.1 host Paul Fletcher joins the morning team as well as hosting middays, while Jade Title, a long-time presence at KCMP/The Current, takes over afternoons.

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