Toby Lightman ’00 grew up in New Jersey, but she ran in Big Ten circles. Her dad went to Penn State, her sister attended Ohio State, and many of her classmates opted for other schools in the conference. “I knew somebody who had already been going to Wisconsin, and I actually auditioned at Michigan — don’t judge me — as a violin major,” she says. “And then I got into Wisconsin and was like, ‘Fantastic!’ ”
As a Badger, Lightman studied communication arts and taught herself guitar during her free time. Just a year out of college, she signed a major record deal with Lava/Atlantic Records, and in March 2004, she released her first album, Little Things. Her 2004 single “Devils and Angels” spent 30 weeks in the Top 20 on Billboard’s Adult Pop chart (and you’ll see it listed in On Wisconsin’s “The All-Time Greatest UW Playlist”).
Today, Lightman continues to produce music as an independent artist. You can find her latest works on her website, including her newest EP, Vanderbilt, released in January 2025.
- Favorite ’90s or early ’00s bands: Fugees, No Doubt
- Favorite ’90s or early ’00s movies: Tommy Boy, Billy Madison
- Favorite campus-area hangout: The KK
- ’90s or early ’00s trend you’re happy to have left behind: Scrunchies
- ’90s or early ’00s trend you’d like to bring back: “I just bought a pair of Doc Martens.”
What accomplishments or projects are you most proud of working on in the last 25 years?
Being approached by Prince to open for him is by far the highest compliment an artist could have. Aside from that, getting a record deal a year out of college with Atlantic Records and then navigating being independent and producing my own albums now. I would say those are some of my proudest moments and all the experiences that came along with that. And then my kids. I have two little boys, and they’re definitely at the top.
What are you working on now?
I’ve worked with a lot of amazingly talented producers, but I’ve now started producing on my own. It took me four years, to teach myself how to produce my last album, After All. I’m currently producing the follow-up to that and releasing the first single this spring. It’s coming together much faster.
This batch of material the type of music that I’m missing — music to empower women of my generation. We’re all in this interesting phase of life right now, and I don’t find that there are that many artists singing to us. So, this album is geared towards empowering you to take chances and live how you want to live. If you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s okay. Go easy on yourself. If it’s not today, maybe it’ll be tomorrow when the answer comes. I don’t want to listen to sad music right now. I want songs that will hype me up, and so that’s what I’m creating.
Are there any courses, professors, or opportunities from your time at the UW that have had a lasting influence?
I taught myself guitar while I was at Wisconsin, which was huge. Wisconsin was a place for me to really express myself. You go to college, and it can be intimidating, and it was, but you can also say, “Okay, I don’t want to be the shy girl anymore. I want to feel like I can express myself and teach myself guitar or do whatever.” You have the great fortune of doing this in college. Madison was a very welcoming place to do just that. I met other musicians really easily that all wanted to connect in that way.
My junior year, I dropped out for six months to sing in a band in Thailand. I don’t know if I would’ve had the guts to do that if I hadn’t felt free to be myself in Wisconsin! When I came back, I knew I had to graduate on time so I could go to New York and get a record deal. So, I ended up graduating in three-and-a-half years of credits. I felt so lucky to be able to have the education to come back to. And I ended up taking classes that I just found interesting at that point.
I took classes on Buddhism, women’s health, World War II and the childhood of Hitler. I learned crazy subjects, and thankfully, it counted towards my graduation. I feel really lucky that I was able to explore some of these off-center things that really had no relevance to my major. After leaving Thailand, I realized how lucky I was to come back to UW.
What’s your best memory from your time on campus?
I had the best time staying over the summer I returned from Bangkok. I lived in an apartment on Mendota Court, which is right by the [Memorial] Union. Madison in the summer is so beautiful. A lot of my friends stayed as well. We had the best time. I highly recommend it.
I also have fond memories of going to UW football games. We would all go to the Kollege Klub. Everybody would be wearing red, and we would march up the street to Camp Randall. It was such a cool thing. I always said when I was applying for college that I wanted to have the quintessential college experience, and I believe I got that at UW–Madison.
