Kevin's Celeb Pics

It was a busy Thursday and Friday in Bloomington and in Peoria.

Thursday night, the Lyle Lovett/John Hiatt Tour was in Bloomington for a show at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

Lovett greeted me warmly as he exited the venue to his tour bus about an hour before the show. He posed for this shot and signed a CD.

About 20 minutes later, Hiatt and his wife pulled up to the venue after a pre-show dinner at a local restaurant. Hiatt gladly signed a CD and photo before hopping on his tour bus to prepare for the show.

On the return trip home, I stopped by The Center in Springfield just in time to catch comedian Rodney Carrington as he finished his show. After a quick post-concert meal of ribs and pulled pork on his tour bus, he came out to pose for this shot. He even apologized for the wait.

Friday night, it was off to Peoria. First up was the Micheal W. Smith/Amy Grant double bill at the Civic Center Theater. Micheal did a run-off at the end of the show, but I did manage to get him to stop at the door of his bus for this quick shot.

Amy exited about 30 minutes, along with a rather large entourage of security guards, tour personnel, and her mom. While she promised she come back to take a picture as she boarded the tour bus, it didn't happen. However, her tour manager did take my CD on the bus for her to sign.

Jenny Gill, daughter of country artist Vince Gill (and his first wife, Janis), is a vocalist on the tour. She stopped to chat with fans and took this photo.

Before departing the River City, I stopped by the Fire on the Mountain Festival at the East Peoria Convention Center to catch Grammy award winning bluegrass legend Peter Rowan. Rowan and his Bluegrass Band had just started their set when I walked in the door. He performed his hits, along with new songs, such as Jailer, Jailer from his latest release. Following his set, he gladly signed a CD and posed for this shot.