Thirteen years ago, I had this idea: What if San Francisco had a radio station where people could be themselves? Where the best “radio voice” was your own? Where DJs could play the music they actually loved, instead of the music someone told them would perform well? Where local musicians could get heard?

I imagined a place where people could learn how to make real, hands-on radio without corporate or algorithmic influence, and we could have this little corner of the media landscape that actually belonged to the community making it.

But what I couldn't have imagined is that, all these years later, you all have helped make that idea bigger and better than I ever could have, turning BFF.fm from a small group of friends into an actual institution. And for such a quirky little station, we sure do a lot!

  • We give many local musicians their first radio interview.
  • We give people who've always loved music but never thought of themselves as a "radio person" a microphone and training to make a radio show that people will love listening to.
  • We highlight Bay Area artists through Locals ONLY, our automated playlist featuring 1500 artists and growing, so that listeners can discover the people making music right here.
  • We host and co-present shows around the city and make sure that our local musicians are paid fairly, while BFF.fm takes none of the profits.
  • We support the incredible scene we have without needing to take ownership of it or dictate how it should look. We can work together with the people already doing it themselves and we can do it together.
  • We’ve created a place where people can meet each other. That is something San Francisco desperately needs.

I don’t need to tell you that artists and musicians make this city more interesting. That they’re the ones that make people fall in love with San Francisco. But right now those same artists and musicians are under threat.

They need more stages (not fewer); they need affordable places to live, and they need audiences. They need people that care...and that includes media that actually cares whether they exist.

That's the role BFF.fm tries to play. It’s a huge responsibility and a huge opportunity. And the reason we have been able to do it for 13 years is because of all of you.

Our DJs and volunteers give an extraordinary amount of their time and creativity to this station. Our listeners tell their friends about us, come to events, and show up for local artists. Our community partners, venues, labels, musicians, businesses, board members, and supporters have helped us grow far beyond anything I imagined when we first started broadcasting from The Secret Alley in 2013.

And our donors make the whole thing possible. So I want to ask you for a little favor. Please make a birthday gift to BFF.fm today.

 Whatever you can give: five dollars, twenty-five dollars, fifty dollars, five hundred dollars…it all matters.

Every donation helps keep the studios running, the stream broadcasting, local artists getting heard, our programs growing, and this community connected.

Thank you for helping us build this ridiculous little radio station and keep it alive for thirteen years. Because of you there's still a place in San Francisco where someone can walk into a tiny room, queue up something you've never heard before, then hop on a mic and say: "You’ve gotta hear this."

Happy birthday, BFF.fm And, seriously, thank you.