Owensboro has always been on the map, but in the last couple of months, Owensboro has REALLY been put on the "map." I mean, when a western Kentucky city of 60,000, give or take, gets visits from a couple of huge stars within a three-month period, there may be some who start asking, "Where is Owensboro KY?"

Well, I'll tell you. It's a city on the Ohio River where Johnny Depp was born--the SAME Johnny Depp who paid a visit in October on his way to Louisville for a concert with Jeff Beck.

DIERKS BENTLEY COMES TO OWENSBORO

Less than three months later, look who shows up for lunch at Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn right here in Owensboro:

WHY DIERKS BENTLEY WAS IN OWENSBORO

When I found out Dierks was at Moonlite, my first question was why? And that's dumb; he was there to eat some barbecue. The bigger question is why he was in Owensboro. That may be clouded in a bit of mystery at the moment, but I spoke with Moonlite's Patrick Bosley and he told me he was dining with folks from Green River Distillery. I spoke with Green River Distilling's Nicole Ebelhar who told me, "Dierks has an interest in bluegrass music and whiskey and was in Owensboro today to visit the bluegrass museum and also visited our historic distillery for a tour while he was in town. We ended the day with lunch at Moonlite."

I've never met Dierks, but he has always seemed to be very approachable, just a really nice, down-to-earth guy. Bosley backed that up by saying he was accommodating to anyone at Moonlite who wanted a picture.

And yes, Bentley's appreciation for fine bourbon is well-documented:

Moonlite BBQ has had many an A-list visitor over the years. Of course, Owensboro's very own Hayden brothers are a part of that star-studded line-up. But so are William Shatner, KISS (in 1977--Patrick Bosley got his picture with them when they were at the Sportscenter in concert), the late Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle USMC), Pam Tillis (I actually had lunch with her and her band and crew there in 1992), and former President Bill Clinton in 2000.

There are many more, and when I spoke to Bosley, he couldn't remember off the top of his head all of those who'd been there. But their pictures are on Moonlite's walls.

And apparently, if he wants to hang a photo of Dierks Bentley to commemorate the visit, he'll have plenty to choose from.

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26 Performers Who Appeared at Owensboro's Executive Inn Showroom Lounge

There's rarely a conversation I have about the Executive Inn that doesn't lead to someone (myself included) wishing it was still here. So many big names and FUTURE big names performed on that Showroom Lounge stage.

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