It’s fair to say that most students don’t consider WBFO to be their radio station. That’s because the station, the UB public radio station, has a strict format of contemporary jazz and blues—not the music of choice for most university students.

Imagine the surprise at 8 p.m. on a Wednesday night when WBFO crisply and professionally put the Buffalo rock band Besnyo on their airwaves. In between the band’s songs, host Bert Gambini comes on the air to announce the band’s members, and invites the UB community to see the band’s set for themselves, and maybe even ask them a question on the air.

This has been the typical scene of a new weekly concert series aptly titled “Live in Allen Hall,” which has already hosted such local acts as Sleeping Kings of Iona, Brian Wheat, London vs. New York, and Hussalonia, to name a few. Since its October, 2007 inception, friends and fans of Buffalo musicians have been able to see their favorite bands play live, listen to the show on WBFO 88.7, or get a live stream from wbfo.org, all without a single fee or cover charge.

On top of the contemporary updates, WBFO is host to a new commercial-free all-music HD radio station called WBFO XPoNential—Music that Matters, which broadcasts “adult album alternative” music 24/7 on HD radio and on their website, completely free to listeners.

The affordability of shows such as “Live in Allen Hall” and “Buffalo Avenues” stems from their relationship with the WBFO XPoNential Buffalo Music Project, created by a grant from the New York State Music Fund.

“The Buffalo Music Project has been established to showcase our community’s contemporary popular music culture and its diversity,” says Joan Wilson, director of communications and marketing for WBFO and assistant general manager, as well as the author of the grant request to NYSMF in June 2007. The NYSMF was set up by Governor Spitzer, when the former NY Attorney General prosecuted major record labels for “Payola,” a marketing scheme in which music companies pay radio stations in exchange for airplay.

The resulting grant money helps fund efforts to enrich and promote the local music scene. “Live in Allen Hall,” and “Buffalo Avenues,” a weekly on-air review of live shows in venues around Western New York, pay well-deserved radio attention to local musicians.

Alison Zero, the Buffalo Music Project talent producer and music reporter, is thrilled to hear some of her favorite local bands and to give WBFO’s regional audience of 1.15 million the chance to hear them, too. “We visit venues, speak with Western New York’s finest musicians—national acts as well—record their live shows, and then create these nifty little montages of all the audio we’ve gathered.”

For local bands, an on-air interview with personality-rich band members is the kind of exposure that can build a fan-base. A lot of Zero’s talent scouting is by old fashioned word of mouth, and listeners are encouraged to share the names of their favorite musicians so that no talent goes unnoticed. The XPoNential website includes a running discussion titled, “What are some of your favorite local bands?” Interested fans can list the names and descriptions of good acts they’ve seen, and even plug their MySpace accounts. What emerges is a bubbling field of musical performance in which everyone in the audience is a potential talent scout, and every live show a kind of audition. If someone in the pit is impressed and wants to get the word out, their grassroots campaign can materialize through the XPoNential platform.

“This is one way for Buffalo musicians to find a large scale outlet to present their work,” Wilson says. “The addition of WBFO XPoNential and these locally-produced shows represent the most substantive contribution that WBFO can make to our music scene this year.”

The diversity of the music scene is striking. Music buffs will be pleased with the variety of performances in both “Live in Allen Hall” and “Buffalo Avenues,” which range from folk to R&B, touching on electronica, indie, jazz, blues, and other labels for fan preferences. Zero boasts, “WBFO XPoNential is eclectic. Our mission is to help people discover new music that they may not have heard before.”

For most UB students, the discovery is no more than a bus-ride away. Even in the perils of icy pavements and freezing temperatures, the convenience of Allen Hall highlights the mission of WBFO’s project.

“WBFO’s Allen Hall Theater, up to this point, has been a bit of a secret,” Wilson admits. “It’s wonderful for our live broadcast concerts—it’s a convenient trip from both the suburbs, the city, and for students. And parking in the metro lot outside the hall is abundant and free too.”

Up the stairs, the labyrinthine layout of WBFO’s headquarters seems just as relaxed as the atmosphere right before a live-to-air concert. One would assume the permanence of a live show means closed doors for the stray snowflake wandering in. But the door is always open, the size of the hall guarantees good sound, and the few rows make for a cozy friendly atmosphere. As if trained, the audience knows when to cheer and how loudly, in order to convey the appropriate radio enthusiasm. After a few songs, Bert Gambini, WBFO’s music director and the hand behind the jazz weekday afternoons, engages with the figures on stage and asks them intelligent and well-researched questions. Band members discuss the issues of their existence as a band, how often they practice, their musical influences, even the mysteries behind their often-esoteric band names. Concurrently, ushers pass around small bits of paper and pencil on the off-chance that one may have a question to ask the band. After the applause fades out and the hour is successfully broadcast, Zero announces that the band will be outside after the show if anyone else has any questions.

Small details like this epitomize the personality of the Buffalo Music Project, with an emphasis on viewer and fan as much as on the band itself. Though already booked through February, the future and stability of “Live in Allen Hall” and “Buffalo Avenues” relies on community support and participation.

“Right now, the existing grant will take our two local shows through February 2009,” notes Wilson. But the grant responsible for funding the project is not renewable, and Wilson is investigating how the shows can attain some level of self-sufficiency with the help of other grants and listener donations and sponsorships.

“Ultimately, the public will let us know whether WBFO XPoNential is making a valuable impact on this community or not—that’s the great part about being a public radio station. We program for our listeners instead of a commercial entity. If they like it, they’ll get behind it and support it.”

For more information on how to support the growth and development of Buffalo’s music scene, visit wbfo.org or contact xpo@wbfo.org.