John Oates, the legendary co-creator of chart-topping pop-rock duo Hall & Oates, has announced Reunion, his sixth solo studio album, set for release via Jasper Productions on May 17. As his first new studio offering since 2018’s Arkansas, Oates has released the forthcoming album’s title track, which frames the renowned vocalist and guitarist within wide wide-open and wistful folk-rock atmosphere. The artist will support this long-awaited return with a summer tour, currently featuring 21 US appearances with more dates through this year and next to be announced.

On Reunion, Oates channels his roots in the ‘60s folk revival, continuing down the Americana road he started walking on his 2018 release. Co-written with acclaimed singer-songwriter A.J. Croce, the title track personalizes this rich musical heritage with the icon’s inimitable brand of enveloping, high-production pop grandeur, amounting to a dreamy, stirring folk-rock meditation on self-realization. Oates premiered the new offering live at the Franklin Theatre in Franklin, Tenn. earlier this year; watch a newly released tape of the show below.

“The idea for writing a song about a ‘Reunion’ came to me when I began to think about the true definition of the word,” Oates shares on the track’s origins. “It came together when my 100-year-old father told me that he was making ready to be together with my mother, who had passed away some time ago. I wanted to write about the idea of reconnecting with the most essential part of our soul and our spirit. I brought the idea to a co-writing session with a newfound friend, A.J. Croce, a man with songwriting in his DNA and who is both an amazing piano player and someone who I sensed would relate to this idea. The song flowed out in a few hours.”

Oates’ imminent project features an array of impressive guest-spots, including contributions from Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck and Sierra Hull, plus an ensemble of Nashville, Tenn.’s finest session musicians, like Guthrie Trapp, Tom Bukovac and Russ Pahl. Together, the artists assembled a focus and multifaceted exploration of “love, loss, and personal rediscovery framed in a sonic palate of lush acoustic production,” per the album announcement.

Stream “Reunion” now. For more information and updates on Oates’ music and tour, visit johnoates.com.

Read on for the complete list of Oates’ 2024 tour dates

John Oates 2024 Tour
April 4 – The Paramount – Huntington, N.Y.
April 5 – The Palace Theatre – Pittsburgh
April 6 – Knauer PAC – West Chester, PA
April 9 – Harvester Performance Center – Rocky Mount, Va.
April 10 – Paramount Center for the Arts – Bristol, Tenn.
April 12 – Cain Center for The Arts – Cornelius, N.C.
April 13 – Buckhead Theatre – Atlanta
April 18 – Columbia State Community College – Columbia, Tenn.
April 28 – Dos Lagos Amphitheater – Corona, Calif.
May 2-3 – Musical Instrument Museum – Phoenix
May 7 – City Winery – St. Louis
May 8 – City Winery – Chicago
June 7-8 – Grand Mesa Songwriter Festival – Cedaredge, Colo.
June 25 – Memorial Hall – Cincinnati
June 26 – Agora Theatre + Ballroom – Cleveland
June 27 – Rochester International Jazz Festival – Rochester, N.Y.
August 15 – Cape May Convention Hall – Cape May, N.J.
August 17 – Philadelphia Folk Festival – Philadelphia, Pa.
August 22 – The Newtown Theater – Newton, N.J.
August 24 – The Cabot – Beverly, Mass.
August 25 – Dreamland – Nantucket, Mass.