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.

Country music legend Charlie Louvin died today after a short bout with cancer. This 2007 shot is from Blueberry Hill in St. Louis, Missouri, before an afternoon sound check. He posed for the shot and signed a couple of photos, but, as you can tell from the photo, he was in a hurry to get outside for a cigarette.

Here's the last celeb photo for 2010.

Actor/comedian/game show host Howie Mandel was in St. Louis last night for two sold-out comedy shows at the Four Seasons Hotel Ballroom.

Mandel posed for this shot as we rode together from the Cielo Bar on the hotel's 8th floor to his suite on the 12th floor. He tried to slip past us with the hat and hood, but it didn't work. The security escort was the giveaway.

The biggest selling instrumental musician of the modern era dropped into the Peoria Civic Center Theater last night.

Kenny G, the Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist, performed a mix of his hits and Christmas favorites during the nearly 2-hour show. Near the end of the concert, he made sure to invite fans to meet him in the lobby to buy a CD and get an autograph. In fact, he said not once, but three times, that he'd much prefer hanging out with fans rather than returning to his hotel room at the Holiday Inn City Center. Apparently, Mr. Gorelick was not too fond of his accommodations.

He quickly worked his way through signing for about 300 fans in less than 15 minutes. The man was a machine! He then took a few minutes to pose for photos with those who waited until the signing ended.

Oh, by the way, if you had some extra jingle in your pocket last night, a Kenny G saxophone could have been yours for a mere $1,200.

Morgan Spurlock says "just say no to Ronald."

The Oscar-nominated film maker was in St. Louis Saturday as the celebrity guest for Stache Bash, an event benefiting the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Livestrong. Stache Bash is sponsored by the American Mustache Institute . . . say what?

The American Mustache Institute (AMI) - based in St. Louis as the city is home to the world's largest mustache - the St. Louis Arch. AMI is an advocacy organization protecting the rights of, and fighting discrimination against, mustached Americans by promoting the growth, care, and culture of the mustache.

Spurlock, probably best known for his documentary, Super Size Me, posed for this shot as he arrived in the city with the world's largest "stache." Unfortunately, he wasn't the winner of the 2010 Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year.

One of stage and screen's nicest guys was in St. Louis this past Sunday to pick up a Lifetime Achievement Award from the St. Louis International Film Festival.

Stacy Keach received the award prior to a screening of his early 70's flick, Fat City. A question and answer session preceded the screening at Lindenwood University. Following the Q and A, Keach mingled with fans and movie buffs while signing autographs and posing for photos.

Stacy's brother, James Keach, was present to help honor his brother. James is an actor, writer, director, and producer. His most recent effort was directing Waiting Forever, released earlier this year. James is married to actress Jane Seymour.

Finally, an early evening screening of Winter's Bone at Webster University featured Marideth Sisco. Sisco makes a memorable appearance as a singer in the movie. She posed for this shot upon her arrival at the screening. Winter's Bone was the winner of Best Picture (Grand Jury Prize) at this year's Sundance Film Festival and is gathering "buzz" as a possible Oscar nominated film.

Television legend Carol Burnett was in St. Louis, MO, last night for a performance of her show, Laughter and Reflection: An Evening with Carol Burnett at the Fox Theater. The 78-year-old actress stopped for this photo as she arrived back at her hotel following the show. Earlier in the evening as she departed for the Fox, she signed one autograph per person while sitting in her SUV.

With Burnett's signature and photo, I now have the entire cast of The Carol Burnett Show!

Before leaving town, I went across the street to the Lumiere Hotel to grab this photo with singer Richie McDonald, voice of the country group Lonestar. McDonald was happy to take the photo and chat for a few minutes before departing. McDonald and Tracy Lawrence performed together earlier in the evening at the hotel's ballroom. Unfortunately, I missed Lawrence as he left for the bus.