Sounds like Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Nick Cave.

Jon Brooks is part unrepentant idealist, part fallen mystic, part secular preacher, part Gen X Cohen, Cave and Cash - he is a troubadour wholly devoted to the song as being a necessary means toward greater social justice. His inspiration is taken from those on the outside of the circle of approval. Brooks maintains, "only a stranger will save this world."

Brooks' 2005 release, 'No Mean City,' is a 13-song/novel set amid the homelessness of Toronto streets and is aimed without caution at what Brooks considers "our contemporary moral fatigue and lack of inner life". His new CD, 'Ours And The Shepherds', is a collection of songs examining Canada's war experience. Brooks was named the '2006 Songwriter of the Year' by the international Green Man Review. He is also a published essayist with his contribution to 'Barry Callaghan - Essays on His Works', which includes the likes of Margaret Atwood, William Kennedy, Patrick Lane, Joyce Carol Oates, Noah Richler and others.

http://www.jonbrooks.ca/
http://myspace.com/jonbrooks