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Blake Hannon has been an arts and entertainment reporter for the News-Press since 2007, covering all facets of arts and entertainment events and news in St. Joseph and the surrounding area.

He reports on art exhibits, theatrical productions, classical performances and festivals, and handles event listings for our entertainment calendar. He also does movie reviews and regularly speaks to national and local bands while maintaining an entertainment column.

A native of Ironton, Ohio, Blake moved to St. Joseph from Lexington, Ky. As a musician and writer, in high school he always joked that he would either be on the cover of Rolling Stone or writing for it. Since the former is less likely to happen, he can think of nothing better than taking whatever writing talent he has and dedicating it to covering something he loves.

Blake has a 25-pound schnauzer named Daxter that he inherited thanks to his fiancee. He could watch the movie "Pulp Fiction" or "Braveheart" on a loop and never get tired of it and finds himself easily getting hooked on some of the dumbest reality TV shows.

He's as tall as Michael Jordan without any of the athletic ability and can consistently be found snacking on peanut butter straight out of the jar and dying to play his drum set. If you have a band and need a drummer, you know where to find him.

Recent Stories

The Shuffle: The long road for Lindsay

In early August, actress and celebrity tabloid fixture Lindsay Lohan concluded a 14-day stay in jail for violating her probation. She was sent off to mandatory rehab only to be released weeks later to continue outpatient treatment. Now, Lohan’s career CPR has officially begun.

Something big in Bethany

Region comes together for fun at Northwest Missouri State Fair

The town of Bethany, Mo., is a pretty quiet, unassuming place — at least for 359 days out of the year. But one yearly event causes tens of thousands to make Bethany a destination for big fun, whether they are looking for live music, livestock, motorsports or plenty of other varieties of family entertainment. That event is the Northwest Missouri State Fair, which will take place Sept. 1 through Sept. 6.

Entertainment calendar, Aug. 27, 2010

The Shuffle: A numbers game

I can’t say numbers are exactly my forte. Heck, part of the reason I studied journalism at college was to slyly avoid taking a single class in mathematics. But in the process of my weekly bloodhound-esque hunt for pop culture topics, I stumbled across numbers, both big and small, that told surprising stories and hinted at the mercurial nature of entertainment topics. Number crunchers, this one is for you.

High noon

First Thursday Downtown Noon Concerts begin next week

People look forward to the midday hour for any number of reasons, whether it’s a chance to escape work or sink their teeth into that lunchtime meal they’ve been craving since, well, breakfast. Now, people in St. Joseph have one more reason to look forward to noon thanks to the First Thursday Downtown Noon Concerts, a series that begins Sept. 2 at First Presbyterian Church.

Noted connection

'Sounds in the Square' concert comes to Felix Street Square

The gazebo in Coleman Hawkins Park at Felix Street Square has racked up plenty of live music mileage recently between the weekly Sounds of Summer Concert Series, the Coleman Hawkins Jazz Festival in June and numerous benefit concerts. If the structure’s ceiling could talk, it would probably sing instead.

This is: Noah Earle

The Missourian hosts Kevin Schneider, Tracy Huffman and Sean Cleary tonight

Kevin Schneider, Tracy Huffman and Sean Cleary will perform at 9 p.m. tonight at The Missourian, 3701 King Hill Ave. For more information, call 238-5483.

Legends reignited

Megadeth finds renewed vitality through old and new material

Heavy metal has been and always will be a sub-culture genre with a die-hard fan base that sticks with the music and its bands through the peaks and valleys of the genre’s popularity and a fluctuating musical climate. In fact, few bands know this better than thrash metal innovators Megadeth. Since forming in 1983, the band has seen trends come and go while stubbornly sticking to its brutal, guitar-shredding guns. Only now, it seems a certain appreciation for the band’s sound has come back in a big way.

Blake Hannon

Lifestyles Reporter