Julien Baker & TORRES’ Send A Prayer My Way was written and sung in the best of the outlaw tradition—defiant, subversive, working class, and determined to  wrestle not only with addiction, regret and bad decisions,  but also with oppressive systems of power. Mercifully, this  is only the beginning of the stories TORRES and Baker are  determined to tell. Because these are also songs about  radical empathy and second chances, and third chances,  and while there’s plenty of struggle and regret in here,  there’s also humor and defiance.

Send A Prayer My Way has been in the works for years.  Imagine two young musicians playing their first show  together at Lincoln Hall, a much-loved venue here in  Chicago. It’s January 15, 2016, and bone chillingly cold  outside, especially for a couple of southerners. When the  show is over and they’re shooting the shit, one singer says to the other, “We should make a country album.”

This is the origin story, the stuff of legend in the world of country music, and the beginning of a collaboration between two artists already admired for their spare,  elegant lyrics as well as the courage to share their struggles with those who love their music. It’s also the beginning of creating a work that, like the most
enduring country albums, sustains and inspires, reminding both singer and listener that not one of us is ever totally alone in this world, that music is a steady companion.