Various Artists- Too Late To Pray: Defiant Chicago Roots (Various Artists)

Bloodshot Records was launched in 1994 with the release of it's first album, the scene-capturing compilation For A Life of Sin: Insurgent Chicago Country. For our 25th anniversary, we wanted to come back home to shine a light, once again, on Chicago - ever-changing, ever-vibrant, ever on the make - to champion the storytellers who keep the city a vital place. While the metropolis is too motley to have a signature sound, it does have a signature hustle, the hope-against-hope drive that a small-timer can beat it past the big shots and catch a break. No matter what may change, move on, or get bulldozed, as long as the city IS, that spark will never be snuffed out. Someone or something will always be here to fan it. Bloodshot Records is undeniably and proudly a product of that Chicago hope and hustle. As the label's home, the diverse city has shaped it's personality, it's sound, and it's surrounding scene. The communion of ideas between local artists and purveyors at venues, record shops,