When John Oates moved to Nashville in 2010 to work on his next solo album, he didn’t do what so many pop stars before him had done and pander to a mainstream country music audience. Instead, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member immersed himself in the city’s roots music community, collaborating with pickers, producers, and songwriters like Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and the late great Mike Henderson to create the celebration of Americana music Mississippi Mile.
Many in that same community assembled to pay tribute to Oates on Monday night during the annual BMI Troubadour Award ceremony, held at the performing-rights organization’s Nashville headquarters. As is the norm, guest artists took turns interpreting the recipient’s songs, but in a departure, the honoree himself also performed this year. For Oates, it was an opportunity to debut a new collaboration with fellow Philly guy Devon Gilfillian, the gorgeous “Mending,” officially released this Friday.
At 76, Oates’ voice remains impeccable and he deftly parried with Gilfillian in the song’s outro, each singer showing off their pipes while elevating the other. Lifting up other musicians has always been paramount to Oates — perhaps because of his years spent in a duo where one half of the act often received the bulk of the attention. There, during his own awards dinner, Oates sat in rapt attention as artists like Molly Tuttle, Sam Bush, A.J. Croce, Bekka Bramlett, and Wendy Moten put their own spin on Hall & Oates hits and Oates’ solo material.
Moten, along with Rome Ramirez (known for his work in Sublime), dazzled with a faithful rendition of “She’s Gone,” while Tuttle, with Bush on mandolin, added bluegrass flair to “Out of Touch.” Bush returned later to play the title track to Oates’ 2018 solo LP Arkansas, before Croce — another Philadelphia-area native — energized Oates’ recent single “Reunion.” Following an acceptance speech by Oates, who spoke at length about his affinity for American roots music, Bramlett joined the house band, including Tom Bukovac, Guthrie Trapp, and Russ Pahl, for a high-energy closer of “Stand Strong,” the title track to Oates’ 2013 album.
“A Troubadour is someone who mixes knowledge with memories and puts that into songs to help us better understand the connections we all share,” BMI’s Clay Bradley said at the start of the evening. “John Oates is the epitome of that. For the past 15 years, he has deepened the Americana community with his timeless albums like Arkansas and Reunion and he continues to raise the bar with music that transcends time.”
Oates is BMI’s latest Troubadour recipient, following past heavy hitters like John Prine, John Hiatt, Lucinda Williams, Billy Gibbons, and Robert Earl Keen. The BMI Troubadour ceremony is the unofficial start to AmericanaFest week in Nashville: Oates will play a special set during the festival on Saturday at Nashville’s storied bluegrass outpost, the Station Inn.