What started out as "he'll just wave and say hello to you because they're holding the airport open for us" turned out to be much better last Tuesday in Peoria, IL.

Yanni was in town to kick off his 2011 Spring Tour. Following the show at the Civic Center Theater, his tour manager appeared at the stage door to make the above announcement. A few minutes later, Yanni appeared and came right over to me to pose for the photo. And, since I noticed he had a Sharpie in his hand, I knew he was ready to sign, and sign he did, placing a beautiful signature on a promo 8x10 shot. He proceeded to do the same for the rest of the fans waiting.

And, a special "shout out" to Gary Mertz, (Yanni) SUPER FAN!

A few days before, I got this photo one of the most influential musicians in jazz, Christian McBride following two sold-out shows at Jazz at the Bistro in St. Louis. It's probably the first photo with that the celebrity wasn't wearing shoes. He had his shoes in his bag as he left the club. He also signed an 8x10 for my collection.

Earlier that evening, actor/comedian Harland Williams presented his special brand of comedy at the Comedy, Etc. club in Fairview Heights, IL. It was a great show, A+! He met his fans following the show, taking photographs and signing autographs. Harland has a special affinity for raisin bread, cole slaw, and corned beef. You'll have to attend a show to see what I mean.

Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico, was the guest speaker at last night's 113th Annual George Washington Banquet in Peoria, Illinois. Fox served as Mexico's President from 2000 to 2006.

President Fox and his wife, Marta, posed for this photo during the cocktail hour prior to the dinner. In addition to the shot, he signed an 8 x 10 photo for my collection. Gracias!

A couple hours later, and just two blocks up the street, blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa stopped on the way to his tour bus following his concert to take this photo with me and sign an 8 x 10. A surprisingly large group of fans were waiting for him and Bonamassa happily took care of everyone, posing for photos and signing autographs. His new CD, Dust Bowl, drops March 24.

Congratulations to Colin Firth on winning his first Academy Award tonight. He took home the Oscar for lead actor for his role in The King's Speech. The movie also captured best picture award.

This shot is from December 7, 2009, after Firth's appearance on Regis and Kelly.

You can catch him performing Sunday night during the Academy Awards, but tonight, Randy Newman was in St. Louis, Missouri.

Newman, an Emmy (3-time), Grammy (5-time), and Academy award winning singer/songwriter, was in town to perform at a Friends of the Sheldon Concert Hall benefit. Newman stopped for this photo and to sign a Toy Story "You've Got a Friend in Me" compact disk single (already signed by Lyle Lovett) as he arrived back at his hotel following a late afternoon sound check.

Newman will be performing "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3, nominated for "Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media" on Sunday.

It was a road trip to St. Louis yesterday. Unfortunately, the day didn't get off to a great start since the first stop, Rickman Auditorium, had posted a "cancelled" notification on their marquee. Ronnie Milsap's concert was the victim.

After turning around, I stopped at the Fox Theater to catch American Idol runner-up Diana DeGarmo following the matinee performance of the stage production "9 to 5." Several of her cast mates mentioned she be napping between performances. However, when I asked another member of the cast, he offered to get her from the dressing room. Sure enough, a few minutes later, she came out to greet me and sign an 8x10 of us taken last year in New York at her play, "Hair." She also inked a playbill, posed for this shot, and talked about how much she enjoyed her trip to Pappy's the day before.

A couple blocks away at Powell Symphony Hall, trumpeter Chris Botti was set to perform with the St. Louis Symphony. Despite arriving just 25 minutes before show time, he stopped to sign and to pose. Looks like he might have been practicing on the way to the show. If you look close, you can see the mark from the trumpet on his upper lip.

The day concluded with meeting three of the original members of the 70's southern/country group, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. I met them at their hotel following their concert at the Argosy Casino.

Here's John Dillon and Steve Cash.

And, here is Michael "Supe" Granda.

I was excited to get to meet them as the band is semi-retired. They only perform about 6 to 8 concerts a year.

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.