Our darling WRCT has made it through the fire and flames and is now in the finals of Soundtap Madness, the March Madness-style competition between non-commercial radio stations!

We’re now pitted head to head against the University of Vermont’s top notch station, WRUV. The past 2 rounds have seen WRUV rack up a mighty total of 3,400 hours, so this is going to be a tough one.

So what do we do now? Well, we tell our friends, family, co-workers, employees, students, and studio mates to tune in via Soundtap. We’re going to need all the help we can get this round! We have until 3 a.m. EST Thursday morning to rack up the hours.

Let’s show those green mountain boys and girls what these kids from the three rivers are capable of.

A reminder: To have your listening counted you should listen through soundtap.com/madness — NOT our regular webstream. You will need to register and use a Facebook login or text message to verify. That’s the only catch. Sometimes the site is a little funky. If it doesn’t load correctly, try a different browser. You can listen as long as you like, but if you don’t click the “Yes I am listening button” every 60 minutes, your listening won’t count. And we wouldn’t want that.

Hailing from the vast expanses of South Dakota, Rachel Ries can bring grown men to tears.

Songwriting is an inextricable part of existence for Ries, who is constantly crafting songs. She has released myriad recordings, two highlights of which are On Laurel Lake EP and Without a Bird.

Besides overflowing with massive doses of honesty, On Laurel Lake EP reveals skilled production and recording techniques. In this album, Ries’ trembling harmonies punctuate her sophisticated melodies. Her craftsmanship is apparent on this exquisite folk album. From the slightest wavering of vocals to the gentlest of brushes on the guitar pickups, Ries captures it all on the recording.

Ries tackled the album by herself on a personal retreat in Tennessee and dug deep to patch the songs together. While not as seemingly hip as Bon Iver’s Blood Bank, her recordings on the EP have a poignant delicacy that allows it to exist free from hype. In a different vein from the folk-oriented pastorals of On Laurel Lake EP Ries’ 2007 release, Without A Bird explores her relationship with the city of Chicago.

Across albums, Ries’ music constantly grapples with the tumultuous dichotomy between life in the city and life in the country. In her own words: “This life I’ve chosen felt suddenly precarious, muddled, and far too far from the source. What do we really need? Out here in the ‘real’ world I ask for so much more than family, faith, food, and shelter. So much vapor.”

While Ries’ songs are heartbreaking, they are not love songs. They speak to life — its joys and its anguish. Memories, dreams, and illusions sit beside anguished lonesomeness in Ries’ songs to create a heart-wrenchingly powerful combination.

Your favorite radio station has been duking it out with the finest non-commercial radio stations from around the world for the past two weeks in SoundTap’s Madness, a March Madness-style competition.

WRCT has been advancing round by round thanks to the support of loyal listeners. We’ve gotten into the final four and we need your help! Instead of listening to WRCT through our site, as normal, please listen through soundtap.com/madness. You will need to register and verify your account using your Facebook or a text message.

The site is a little funky. If it doesn’t load correctly for you, try a different browser. It also seems to disconnect randomly. You can listen as long as you like, but you need to click the “Yes I am listening button” every 60 minutes for your listening to count.

We appreciate your help in getting Pittsburgh’s little old WRCT to the top of this freeform competition! We love being the underdog and you, dear web listener, can make all the difference.

Please join our Facebook group for the most up-to-date information.