At the 2024 Spoken Word Awards, hosts Chip Doug and Anjel Newmann ushered in a night of storytelling, poetry, comedy, and more by welcoming nominees and spectators alike. Doug is a host, entrepreneur, local personality, and a Motif contributor (check out his most recent article about The Fitness Sanctuary). Anjel Newmann is an […]
Tall Teenagers – ChasmTall Teenagers mine the vortex of garage rock for fuzz-wrapped harmonies. I’ve always loved guitarists/vocalists Chelsea Paulhus and Damian Puerini vocals together but the call and response on “Never Leaving” works especially well on the new biscuit. Who doesn’t love a song called “Hot Trash Breath?” There isn’t a bad tune on […]
A poet, a comedian, and a storyteller walk into a bar… it sounds like the beginning of a joke, but on Tuesday, April 9, it was a beautiful reality manifested via Motif’s second annual RI Spoken Awards. Nominees and members of the spoken word community alike gathered at Myrtle in East Providence, which was the […]
One of the eternal foundations of timeless music is its ability to send your mind to a different place in space. And, that’s what exactly happened one recent night at the fabled Odeum in East Greenwich. Gazing out at a packed house, this reporter was transported by a mystical time machine to a throbbing, heavenly […]
On Sunday, March 17 — St. Patrick’s Day — Motif held its monthly mixology contest at Kimi’s, a cozy and beloved neighborhood bar in Federal Hill. Competing bartenders and spectators strolled in, thirsty and decked out in green, ready to sample some thematic cocktails using SmokeLab vodka as the main ingredient. Whose concoction contained the […]
Winners announced below. Tuesday April 9 6 – 10pm Myrtle, East PVD Last year, Motif introduced a new event celebrating spoken art forms. This April, the Spoken Awards return with categories embracing storytelling, poetry, spoken word, and stand-up comedy. The names below were nominated by 20 local organizations that book performers in these various disciplines […]
Winners have been listed below. Save the date! Come out to Narragansett Brewery for our Tattoo Awards spotlighting the best in local tattoo talent. Expect live tattooing, free Hi Neighbor tatts, raffles, an awards ceremony, a tattoo model contest, and as always, some surprises! Hosted by season 2 “Ink Masters” winner Steven Tefft of 12 […]
The Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading is about more than poetry, and more than Langston Hughes – it is about the impact each force has had, and continues to have, on the “Beloved Community” around us. Headquartered in Rhode Island because of the fateful migration of the famed Harlem poet’s work, papers and legacy to […]
Stroll with us through Providence on December 12 at 6pm as we make stops at local bars while completing holiday-inspired tasks. Experience the return of the PVD Drum Troupe, Crafty Claus, the pink Xmas tree and more! Tickets are $60. At each stop strollers will get a free drink and engage in an activity. The […]
What is England’s second-best hangman to do when the punishment is abolished and questions of innocence clouding his last execution leave him reluctant to chat with reporters? In Harry Wade’s case, it’s layering demurred protestations, drinking and occasional angry outbursts. With twists perhaps only British playwright Martin McDonagh could conjure, Hangmen – onstage now at […]