Toby Lightman

American singer-songwriter Toby Lightman has toured with artists like OAR, Rob Thomas, Jewel, Gavin Degraw, Train and even Prince, and she has done so completely independently, which is really hard to accomplish. Being unsigned means you have complete freedom to write and record what you want, when you want, and she has been able to do so while still growing and maintaining a solid following. Watching her live shows, you can see how much raw talent she has. Performing in a small venue like the Hotel Café in Hollywood, California, the intimacy of the show allows you to really appreciate her personality as well as her music. Between songs, she’d talk to the audience while she and her band (consisting of a guitarist, keyboardist, bassist and drummer) would tune up their instruments. You could also see the passion and love she had as she sang, as well as how much fun she would have feeling the music come through her. Every so often she would pick up her acoustic guitar and play along with the rest of her band. The crowd welcomed her warmly and was able to interact very closely with her. For such a small venue, the place seemed pretty packed to support her.