Motif’s jazz writer, Ben Shaw — interviewer of musicians, reviewer of albums and guy in the know — also is a jazz performer, and he dropped an album of his own last month that definitely deserves a listen. The 5-track album was entirely written by Shaw and was influenced a range of jazz styles, from […]
One of Rhode Island’s finest local entertainers is Bob Mainelli.He has performed for more parties, organizational events, civil and otherwise, private celebrations, small clubs, large clubs, restaurants, casinos, political happenings, weddings, funerals, bar-mitzvahs and probably hangings than most professional singers. Bob taught music at Johnston High School for many years. His daughter, Jennifer has emulated […]
With the opening notes pulling a distinct power move by featuring just stripped-down vocals, I was thinking this would be a capella upon my first listen – but I was immediately transported somewhere new once the bright piano chords blended with the warmth of Emily Goldsteins’s half-sung, half-spoken raw vocals. Later, she is joined by […]
Lowell experimental alt-rock band Wax On has led local fans through plenty of different emotions throughout the years. With every album release, they find a way to surprise fans with their sound. On August 4, they released single “Wolfsheets,” and we got a whole new level of Wax On we didn’t know we needed. The […]
As I write this from the one air conditioned room in my house at the end of a six-day heatwave, I can’t help but think it would really be nice if we weren’t living through a global pandemic. With no air conditioned bars to escape to or concerts to keep our hearts energized, it feels […]
On their third full-length release, Special Hazards, Ravi Shavi unleash a collection of 14 songs chock full of grooves, trashy surf and classic pop. Gems like “Going Going Gone” come off like a letter to an old flame with singer/guitarist Rafay Rashid asking, “How’s the city, how’s your mom, do you still have a car, […]
Okee dokee folks… I am in a bit of a precarious pandemic predicament. One one hand I REALLY want live music to start happening again; I want to get back to performing, writing about what is coming up, and reviewing and photographing shows. On the other hand I REALLY don’t think it is wise to […]
Taylor Swift graced us with her presence back in 2013 by claiming the infamous Watch Hill Mansion as her own. But like many places that have existed (and will exist) long after its current inhabitants are gone, this house has a story – one that makes even the illustrious life of Taylor look dingy and […]
Back in late April, as all events for the foreseeable future started to be canceled or postponed due to the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, the Newport Festivals Foundation came to the conclusion that due to safety concerns they would have to cancel both the Folk and Jazz Festivals and wait until summer 2021 to return to […]
Slavery ended throughout the British Empire on “Emancipation Day,” August 1, 1834, when the Slavery Abolition Act came into force. Free Blacks in the United States began celebrating the anniversary as many had personal and community connections with the former slaves of the British West Indies, the Caribbean Islands (including Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, […]