John Oates performs two distinct shows at Wheeler Opera House

With a renewed focus on his solo career, John Oates performs two shows at Wheeler Opera House, each revolving around different themes. Together, the two evenings provide an intimate look into Oate’s 50-plus journey within the music industry — past, present, and future.

On Feb. 28, he intertwines anecdotes from his best-selling memoir “Change of Seasons” with classic hits that helped define him, including songs from his solo career and his partnership with Daryl Hall.

“I’ve had so many interesting experiences in this 50-plus-year career and lots of crazy anecdotes and stories and things that have happened, and I just thought it seemed like a good time in my life to have this be more like a retrospective-style show,” he said.

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On March 1, he presents a lineup he’s never done before, delving into touchstone songs that have influenced him throughout his life.

“Everything I do is intentional. I don’t just pick songs because they were hits — I choose ones that have a personal connection to my life,” he said.

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Each night, his acoustic trio — featuring local musician and longtime collaborator John Michel on percussion and vocals; cellist Nathaniel Smith, who has played with Billy Strings and Kacey Musgraves; and guitarist Sam Wilson, a fixture in Mary Chapin Carpenter’s band — accompanies him.

“These guys bring an unbelievable level of musicianship, and we keep it all acoustic,” Oates said. “It’s a stripped-down, intimate performance.”

Of course, he doesn’t shy away from his past as part of the number-one selling duo in music history. But, his journey didn’t end there. In fact, he began easing his way out of Hall & Oates in the late 1980s and early 1990s when he moved to Colorado full time.

“We started as kids back in the early ’70s and worked together for basically 2 ½ decades. When I moved to Colorado … I really didn’t want to make music anymore. I was more interested in living the mountain lifestyle and making new friends, and I got married and had a kid and built a house. I really changed my whole life, and Colorado had a lot to do with that,” he said.

But in the late ’90s, he started feeling the itch to make music again. He worked with local musicians in Aspen, then moved on to Nashville, where he now spends about half of his time, while returning to Woody Creek in the summer — and visiting throughout the year.

“Nothing is preplanned with me. I just kind of go with instinct as to what it what feels right, and Nashville started to feel right. I started making a lot of friends there and became part of the Americana music community, which gave me a chance to re-explore and review and revisit the music that I loved as a kid: Folk, music, blues, early R&B, rhythm and blues, and stuff that was outside of the box of what I was doing with Daryl, and that became the foundation for my solo work,” he said. “It’s been an ever-evolving process, and it’s still going on.”

Returning to the Wheeler Opera House holds special meaning for Oates, who calls it his “musical living room.” He has performed there for more than 25 years and considers it one of the world’s premier acoustic venues.

“It just sounds so good, and it’s comfortable for the audience,” he said. “It just feels great, and when it feels great, the shows are great.”

He said audiences will see a different side of him this weekend, one that’s pure Oates.

“When you work with a partner, especially a partner like Daryl, who is an amazing musician and one of the world’s greatest singers … (it’s) kind of an artistic compromise from my point of view and same from his point of view. He had to compromise some of his things that he likes and things that influenced him, and I did the same in order for us to create something together that was completely unique,” he said.

Since the legal dispute with Hall in 2023, which he said is in the process of being resolved, he has zeroed in on his solo career, finding “unfettered freedom to totally be myself.”

“I don’t want to just go on tour and play the same hits every night — that’s not where I’m at anymore,” he said. “I’m looking for opportunities that are special, like playing a songwriter show in Honolulu for charity or performing with members of Jimmy Buffett’s band in St. Thomas.”

For Oates, music is about passion, connection, and making the most of the time he has left to perform.

“I feel like I’m playing guitar better than I ever have,” he said. “I want to see how far I can take it.”