Culminating in party at station Friday

When WAYO 104.3 FM Radio station hit the air waves of Rochester nearly a decade ago, it filled a gaping hole in the alternative media scene. In all actuality they have become the real public radio station in Rochester. The following is a description by station manager Max Kelley:

WAYO is an entirely volunteer-run, freeform, community station with nearly 100 shows on the schedule, all of which are locally-produced by people who call Rochester their home — that means your neighbors, friends, and family! While WXXI has tried to project the mantle of Their mission is to “provide a platform for arts and cultural expression as well as underrepresented voices, so our aim is to shine a spotlight on genres of music and topics of discussion that don’t get much (or any) airplay on other stations in the Rochester area.

Being all-volunteer means that everybody who is involved with the station does it for the love of radio and sharing their passion, whether that’s a particular genre of music or topic of discussion, with the community. It also means that all of the funding that we receive goes towards keeping the station on the air and expanding our capabilities. In the last year or so, we’ve invested in video equipment for our Live @ WAYO program (Sundays @ 2pm) which invites local and touring bands and musicians into our studio for live on-air performances. The show is broadcast on 104.3FM and also video live streamed on our website, WAYOFM.org, and the sessions are also uploaded to YouTube to serve as a means of documenting Rochester musical history and to increase awareness of the incredible music scene here in Rochester.

Our annual fall fundraising campaign is our primary source of income — we don’t receive many grants and we’re not funded by any big corporations or CPB funding (which is somewhat a blessing in disguise now that it’s gone, since we never depended on it!) That means that we have the Rochester community (specifically our listeners and our own DJs!) to thank for believing in us and our mission for the past ten years and for showing up each year and donating so that we make our fundraising goal.

This year, our goal is $25,000 in new donations to keep the lights on, pay our bills, and keep bringing you nearly 100 shows a week produced by 160+ volunteers from all walks of life, many of whom came to us with no radio experience at all and now have years of high-quality shows under their belt. Our hope is to use some of this year’s funds to renovate our cramped office/lounge/storage space at the studio to make it a more functional, comfortable space for all of our station members and visitors. It’s certainly showing its age!

Speaking of which… This Friday (11/7) we’ll be hosting a studio open house and fundraiser finale party from 5pm to midnight, featuring food and refreshments from some of our WAYO membership partner businesses (like Pizza Wizard, The Red Fern, Voula’s, and Ugly Duck Coffee). All are welcome to stop down, take a tour of the studio, record a station ID spot, and celebrate the end of the fundraiser with us! WAYO is located at 1237 E Main St (refer to wayofm.org/location for details).

Donate at: https://donate.wayofm.org/