Alec Wightman's time in the music industry has brought him into some incredible rooms with some very interesting people. From Art Garfunkel to Bruce Springsteen, Wightman has met plenty of interesting of people from the world of rock ‘n’ roll. The longtime Columbus concert promoter and board member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame chronicles those experiences in his new memoir, Music In My Life: Notes From a Longtime Fan ($18, Small Batch Books).
Of the artist encounters detailed in the book, one of Wightman’s most memorable came in 2013 when he ended up promoting Art Garfunkel’s return to the stage. After taking some years off to deal with throat problems, Garfunkel wanted to test out a new format of shows focusing more on songs, poetry and audience Q&A’s.
After getting in touch with Columbus production legend Jules Belkin, Wightman agreed to promote Garfunkel’s show in Columbus. Not long after that, a story about Garfunkel’s show ended up above the fold in the Sunday edition of The Columbus Dispatch, with Wightman’s office number listed as the ticket number.
“I was overwhelmed by people wanting tickets. I had more people at the venue than I’d ever had before,” Wightman says. That story is just one of many he details in the book’s 350 pages. “The book is 60 years of being a rock ‘n’ roll fan and 27 years of promoting shows in Columbus along with having a deep involvement with the Rock Hall.”
