Steve Earle

Say what you will about roots rocker Steve Earle; his reputation as an irascible insurgent is well-founded. In a career spanning nearly two decades, he's been labeled an outlaw and renegade on one hand, a musical savior on the other; a melding of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, and Hank Williams in one improbable persona. A passionate performer, albeit one seemingly possessed by demons real and imagined, Earle's ability to court controversy rides on his outspoken attitude. Daringly defiant, his "John Walker's Blues," a defense of the American Taliban, shocked fans and outraged others. His most recent album, The Revolution Starts Now, released this past fall in a desperate attempt to sway public opinion prior to the elections, upped the ante on antagonism. Nevertheless, expect Earle to continue to weigh in on the national debate over America's future.