For Those About to Rock

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame brings big Columbus executives to the stage

The guitars were loud and the drums were fierce.

On June 25, the rock stars were The Ohio State University President Michael Drake, AEP President Nick Akins and Cardinal Health CEO George Barrett.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame brought the unlikely band together as part of an event to celebrate the three joining the Rock Hall’s board of directors. After Rock Hall officials realized the new board members were all musicians, the unique Columbus event quickly came together.

The performance took place at Shadowbox Live and also featured Rock Hall CEO Greg Harris, in addition to house band BillWho?.

“It’s pretty remarkable that these three care enough about the (Rock Hall) to share their time,” says Harris. “They really took this seriously.”

Drake performed both electric and acoustic guitar, as did Barrett, who also sang on several songs. Akins spent the night behind the drum kit.

“I’m a music fan and always have been,” says Drake, who has never performed live before.

The new board members all come from musical backgrounds. Barrett actually started off his career as a musician.

“This is a huge part of my life,” says Barrett. “I do it almost every day.”

Over 45 minutes, the band performed a diverse yet classic set. Each song received an introduction stating the importance of the artist and showing historic photographs on a large screen.

Queen’s “Somebody to Love” showed off the vocal prowess of BillWho? while the Beatles’ “Blackbird” gave Barrett his own singing spotlight. Akins took a drum solo on the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and Drake provided rhythm to songs such as Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’.”

Harris says this is the first event of its kind for the Rock Hall and stresses the importance of Columbus due to its close proximity.

While it’s unclear if the future has similar events in store, the night brought excitement to the Columbus community and the musicians.

“I think tomorrow would be a good time to try it again,” says Drake.

Cameron Carr is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.