It’s been more than three years since John Oates performed with his former musical partner Daryl Hall, and since then, Oates has fully focused on his solo career. In August 2025, the 77-year-old singer, songwriter, and guitarist released his seventh solo studio album, Oates.
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John’s new record finds him returning to a more pop-, soul-, and R&B-influenced sound after releasing a series of albums steeped in blues, folk, and Americana.
In March 2026, Oates launched a series of U.S. shows in support of the album with his longtime backing group, The Good Road Band. The trek stopped in Uncasville, Connecticut on Sunday, March 15, at the intimate Cabaret Theatre inside Mohegan Sun casino.
Oates delivered a 20-song set featuring a handful of reworked Hall & Oates classics, several selections from the new solo effort, and a variety of well-chosen cover tunes.
John immediately got the crowd going by kicking off the show with a version of the 1984 Hall & Oates chart-topper “Out Of Touch.” He then front-loaded his set with four consecutive songs from the Oates album.
The first was the soulful “Pushin’ A Rock,” which Oates explained was a song about struggle. He followed that with “Enough Is Enough,” a tune he co-wrote with the New York City-based pop-soul group Lawrence. Next were two songs John co-wrote with Nashville-based soul singer-songwriter Devon Gilfillian—“Ain’t No Doubt About It” and “Mending.”
The Middle of Oates’ Concert Was Heavily Focused on Covers
John then threw the crowd a bit of a curveball. He explained that he’d recently taken part in a tribute to the Traveling Wilburys in Nashville. This inspired him to learn “Showdown,” a 1973 gem by Wilburys member Jeff Lynne’s main band, the Electric Light Orchestra.
It was then time for Oates to introduce the current members of The Good Road Band. In doing so, John gave each musician the chance to show off their talents via a series of covers.
Guitarist Seth Cook, a recent addition to the group, sang and played tasteful lead on a rendition of the Marvin Gaye classic “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.” Keyboardist Kevin McKendree, who’s been playing with John for more than 15 years, showcased his skills on a version of Percy Mayfield’s 1950 R&B chart-topper “Please Send Me Someone To Love.”
Bassist Marc Rogers, who also serves as musical director, also recently joined the band. He played a deft, fluid instrumental version of Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed.” Drummer John Michel has been backing Oates since the late 1990s. He showed off his singing and beat-keeping abilities on a spot-on rendition of The Youngbloods’ late 1960s peace anthem “Get Together.”
Oates kept the peace-and-love theme going with a cover of Timmy Thomas’ soulful 1972 Vietnam War 1972 protest song, “Why Can’t We Live Together.”
John then announced that he was going to play some songs that were major influences on his own music. Oates noted that he had the honor of helping induct Smokey Robinson into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He proceeded to perform two classic tunes by Robinson and his group, The Miracles—“Ooo Baby Baby” and “Tracks Of My Tears.”
An Early Solo Tune and a Chart-Topping Collaboration
John revisited his debut 2002 solo album, which he pointed out had what he considered the embarrassing title Phunk Shui, for his next song. He described the tune “Go Deep” as a cosmic, self-help funk song.
He then asked if people remembered the Australian band Icehouse. The group scored a massive chart-topping hit in its homeland in 1987 with “Electric Blue,” which Oates co-wrote with Icehouse frontman Iva Davies. John then delivered his own version of the song, which also reached No. 7 in the U.S.
Oates Ended the Show With a Mix of Hall & Oates Hits and Covers
Oates finally returned to the Hall & Oates catalog for a version of the duo’s early hit “She’s Gone.” He recalled writing the tune after being stood up by an alluring woman he asked out after meeting her at an all-night diner in New York City. John recalled that when they met, she was wearing a pink tutu and cowboy boots.
After paying tribute to the late guitarist of Booker T. & The M.G.’s, Steve Cropper, Oates played the upbeat Sam & Dave song “You Got Me Hummin’.”
To end the main show, John and the band delivered their takes on two more 1980s Hall & Oates chart-toppers. “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” and were both co-written by Oates.
Oates noted that “Maneater” also was inspired by a late-night encounter with a woman in New York City. John recalled that she told him the foulest joke he’d ever heard. Oates shared that the song originally was written as a reggae tune, and he and his group played it closer to the way he’d first envisioned it.
The house light then came up, and Oates said goodnight to the cheering crowd. He stopped before leaving the stage, though, and told the audience he’d play one more tune.
Commenting that “it wouldn’t be a rock show without a Chuck Berry song,” Oates brought the evening to a close with a version of “Let It Rock.”
Oates’ last concert of his March 2026 trek is scheduled for Thursday, March 19, in Huntsville, Alabama. Check out his full schedule of confirmed shows at JohnOates.com.
John Oates & The Good Road Band Set List, The Cabaret Theatre, Uncasville, CT: 3/15/2026
- “Out Of Touch”
- “Pushin’ A Rock”
- “Enough Is Enough”
- “Real Thing Going On”
- “Mending”
- “Showdown”
- “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
- “Please Send Me Someone To Love”
- “Overjoyed” (instrumental)
- “Get Together”
- “Why Can’t We Live Together”
- “Ooo Baby Baby”
- “Tracks Of My Tears”
- “Go Deep”
- “Electric Blue”
- “She’s Gone”
- “You Got Me Hummin’”
- “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”
- “Maneater”
Encore:
- “Let It Rock”
(Photo by Khoi Ton/Courtesy of Mohegan Sun)
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