MusicTown: John Oates Sings Curtis Mayfield.

We watched local boy John Oates, a North Penn High School and Temple University grad, doing sound check on Saturday before a performance at the Temple Performing Arts Center. The formerly-mustached half of Hall & Oates warmed up the mic with an acoustic rendition of the Curtis Mayfield classic, “It’s Alright.”

Oates recently recorded a new album, Mississippi Mile, that he is pitching via Pledge Music. The 12 songs on the album are a return to Oates’ early passions in folk music.

“My roots prior to meeting Daryl (Hall) really are something people probably don’t know about,” Oates told JUMP. “That’s why I did this album. People probably think I was born with a mustache, singing ‘Maneater.'”

You can find the full story of Oates and his musical passions in the summer issue of JUMP when it hits the streets on June 3rd.