Have you ever walked into a local bar and wondered to yourself, “Am I still in Providence?” That first happened when I stepped into Nick-a-Nees, and happened again when I saw Jake Hunsinger play a solo show at Union Station Brewery. I was transported to a town somewhere in Texas with Garth Brooks songs playing […]
Friday, May 19, was cold, but great performances warmed up the evening, thanks to the talented tune-spinners David Tessier and the All-Star Stars (or possibly the All-Star Band of All-Star Stars), Guess Method, Baby Baby Explores the Reasons Why that Gum Is Still on the Sidewalk (whom we will henceforth call Baby Baby) and Sasquatch […]
Okee dokee folks… I was just online and a friend of mine posted photos from a concert he is at. He commented that people had been on their feet the whole show. This was a positive thing to him. Me, not so much. At my age I don’t enjoy standing for concerts. I know that […]
Since restarting in November 2021, The First Sunday Jazz Jam at The Parlour (Providence) has been steadily growing a dedicated following of musicians and listeners who have helped transform the monthly series into a community-focused evening of musical dialogue and celebration of jazz. I’ve had the good fortune to watch it all blossom first-hand as […]
Deer Tick – Emotional Contracts (ATO Records) On their ninth studio album, Emotional Contracts, Deer Tick created a record unlike any in their catalog, while retaining their signature elements. It’s really not an easy trick to pull off – experimenting in the lab with new chemicals while still managing to make a record that sounds […]
As much as we’d love to, we can’t write about everything happening in RI this summer. There’s soooooo much. Here are some of the fests that are amazing and worth considering, along with the dates and locations. Some may be covered in future issues, so keep an eye out for Motif as the summer unfolds. […]
Dusk Summerfest Fourth of July and Dusk go hand and hand. The newly rebranded Dusk Summerfest hits PVD on Saturday, July 1 with 14 bands playing both inside and outside stages. “Since we helped adopt Liberty Fest after the original location was nixed by the city, we kept an already popular niche event and expanded […]
Vudu Sister have never been afraid to conjure spirits to spur creativity. Over the course of three albums they have dabbled in dark styles of goth, ghost folk, and indie grunge. Heck, they even have an EP, Burnt Offerings, that is entirely in Latin. Recently Vudu Sister’s singer-songwriter Keith McCurdy took the plunge of quitting […]
Okee dokee folks… We at Motif are going to start printing two issues per month again and I am excited! So much so, I cannot wait, so I am going to warm up to the two issue quota by writing a few extra online columns, starting with this one. Last week I attended two great […]
When it comes to love, local musician Chance Emerson gets real on his latest album Ginkgo, released on May 5. Ginkgo, chronicles the cyclical nature of young love. The album’s release coincided with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Emerson was excited to share his labor of love while celebrating his heritage. On the […]