Jon Brooks
| Jon Brooks | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born | King City, Ontario, Canada |
| Origin | Toronto |
| Genres | Folk, Roots, Americana, Solo Acoustic, Folk Rock, Hip hop, Spoken Word, Blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | 615 Taylor Guitar |
| Years active | 2006-present |
| Labels | Borealis Records |
| Website | http://www.jonbrooks.ca |
Jon Brooks, originally from King City, Ontario, Canada, is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a solo acoustic guitarist and vocalist, he is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, Hammond organ, harmonica, drums, and most recently, the harmonium.
Among the accolades he has received are four nominations for Songwriter of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards for Ours and the Shepherds (2007), Moth Nor Rust (2009), Delicate Cages (2012), and The Smiling and Beautiful Countryside (2015) respectively. In 2009, he was the Canadian Regional Winner of the annual Mountain Stage New Song Contest. In 2010, he was a New Folk Winner at The Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Texas.
Brooks' first full length offering is no longer in print and only available digitally on iTunes. No Mean City is a 13 song "ode to the modern urban disaster," and is set in Toronto's past and present. Focusing on those living "on the outskirts of approval," the songs are boldly layered with biblical, literary, and historical allusion. The idea for No Mean City was inspired by Toronto architecture historian, Eric Arthur's book of the same name - which also accounts for why all the songs devote equal attention to their characters' surrounding architecture.
The title of Brooks' second release, Ours and the Shepherds (2007), was taken from Dorothy Day's response to her own reflection, 'whose fault is it? It's ours and the shepherds'. A collection of Canadian war stories dating from WWI through to current missions in Afghanistan. 13 songs inspired by the lives of Canadians, Sen. Romeo Dallaire, Padre William Henry Davis, John McRae, Sgt. Tommy Prince, and James Loney to name a few. OATS earned Jon multiple awards, a place in the Canadian War Museum and The John McRae Society, as well as his first 'Songwriter of the Year' nomination at the 2007 Canadian Folk Music Awards.
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