Alt-Nation: Everybody Knows …
“Everybody knows that the war is over, everybody knows the good guys lost.” So goes the 2016 presidential election with the words of the late, great Leonard Cohen; rest in […]
A Time Capsule from the 90s in 2026: ‘92 Winona and their Punk Inspiration
Processed with VSCO with 6 preset When Steve DelMonico (vocals/guitar) approached John Faraone (drums) with an impossibly unique band name, there was no way of knowing that 10 years later they’d be sitting at Nolan’s with...
John Faraone's Newest Record, The Waves: How his kid brain allowed for the art of self-expression
Photo: Dave Rezendes. John Faraone: a man of many bands, many instruments, and one poetic voice. While John wouldn’t call himself a poet, I certainly believe that his lyrics are simply stanzas waiting to be printed....
Roots Report
Photo by James Brooks. Okee dokee folks… I have referenced the Jethro Tull song, “Too Old to Rock & Roll, Too Young to Die,” A few times in my 22 years of writing for Motif, and...
Impossible Tasks: On fifth album, Adynata, Vudu Sister burnishes hope in the darkness
(Photo credit: Keith J.G. McCurdy, from the cover art of Vudu Sister’s Adynata; photograph of the art installation LO SGUARDO - Humanitas - Physis by sculptor Igor Mitoraj at the Neopolis Archaeological Park of Siracusa...
You Don’t Have To Go Far: Providence’s Gallery Night shows the art was here all along
Mount Pleasant. Elmhurst. The Valley Arts District. These are all neighborhoods whose offerings I thought I knew well, having worked in and around Providence over the last few years. But you can certainly miss a...
MAKING POINTS WITH THE MOTTS
Buddy Mott. Once upon a time, if you wanted a tattoo, one of the things you could do was traipse to Newport from any of the four corners of the world and get yourself a tattoo...
First things first: Rhode Island's 250th anniversary on May 4 celebrates something important, we just aren't sure what.
The actual declaration of Independence was first proclaimed to the people of Newport from this building in July 1776. (Photo by Maureen O'Gorman) It doesn't take long for a person new to Rhode Island to find...
Pothole Construction Season a Sign of Spring: RI DOT seeks public help finding where to repair
The RI Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced a major initiative to repair potholes caused by a harsh winter. A new Pothole Service Requests Dashboard site on the web – https://www.dot.ri.gov/travel/potholes.php – allows the public to...
ON THE COVER: Mish
The tattoo artist who goes by Mish, of Fall River, MA, created this month’s cover. “I got the nickname when I was younger, and it just kinda stuck,” she says. Also, it stirs a little...
The Impossibility of Satire: Trump-world is an inherent self-parody
On the “Weekend Update” satirical news segment on Saturday Night Live. anchor Colin Jost displayed a snapshot of an unhinged rant laced with profanity in the form of a Donald Trump post to Truth Social,...
MOTIF’S 2026 RI SPOKEN AWARDS
Wednesday, May 276 - 10pmMyrtle, East Providence Join us for the 4th annual Motif Spoken Awards! We are excited to be returning to Myrtle to celebrate RI’s spoken word community. Want to see your favorite Rhode Island...
2026 RI Tattoo Awards
VOTE HERE! "May your tattoo ink never run dry," as the ancient Portlandian blessing goes, has rarely been more applicable. Motif is proud to partner again with Narragansett Brewery to bring you the RI Tattoo Awards,...
Music Awards 2026 Photos
By Lillian MK Photography By Olivia Lunger By Izzy Cooke ...
Motif's 2026 RI Music Awards Winners
The Music Awards went off without a hitch this year, and over the course of the evening more than 400 local music lovers dropped by to dance, listen, and cheer on fellow musicians. We'll have...
Ferns & Fiddleheads: The unfolding of Isa and Tess
It’s often said (well, I definitely say this), that some of the deepest conversations and connected moments can happen while one is sitting in a car. This is certainly true for the duo, band, sisterhood...
Civil War Re-Enactors Commemorate, Well…: We’re not exactly sure what
Image: Olivia Lunger. Local Civil War re-enactor Bill Sherman was having trouble recruiting young people into the hobby, so he hit on a novel idea that is perfectly suited to Gen Z. He immediately telephoned his...
Historic origins of A. Fool's Day
The Continental Congress, befooled. April Fool’s Day originated among the French a few years into the Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin had been pleading with them for any sort of assistance. The brand...
THE NEW RI BREWERY PASSPORT: What you want to know
If you have been a craft beer lover over this past decade, you may remember when the first Rhode Island Brewery Passport was released. It was changed to an app in 2020. Six years later,...
Time to Boogie: Chalumeau Rocks The Parlour
After attending Chalumeau’s release party for their album BLUE at The Met in Pawtucket last August, I wrote that if you ever got the chance to see them perform live, you should jump on it....
“Fin”: CWTheaters in Lincoln Closed After 20 Years
On February 28, after 20 years of being a community staple for first dates, Super Tuesday regulars, and movie fanatics alike, CWTheaters (previously called CinemaWorld) was forced to shut its doors for good. The decline...
BTS with DMK: A conversation with Josh Kirk of HIP CAT
Last year, I had a blast and a half working on a fun commercial shoot. I landed the gig because the fella producing, Josh Kirk, asked around to find an actor to portray the client’s...
"baby" on the way
Photo: Jenn Lombari. @jennlombariphotography ssa lin has been making a local splash like a rockin’ rainstorm after a record-setting blizzard, since releasing her first single, “tallboys,” at the end of 2025. The feedback has been good,...
Stop, Rock and Roll: April 2026
Here are some hot new local tracks to finish melting the ice. The Hopeless Romantics – “Quiet Kind” The third and final single from The Hopeless Romantics’ upcoming debut album, “Quiet Kind” is also a reworked...
Roots Report
Okee dokee folks… PLEASE stop using AI. The more it knows, the more it grows. We are feeding a beast that will someday destroy us. AI is not your friend, though it may pretend to...
Map: Local Dispensaries
Graphic by Olivia Lunger. ...
The High Hiker's Guide to RI
Hey idiot, why are you and your friends getting high indoors? Don't you know? We have a planet, a whole, big planet filled with trees, rivers, and critters. The outside world doesn't have to start...
MEDICAL OR RECREATIONAL?
Medical marijuana was legalized in Rhode Island in January 2006, and by May 2022 even recreational sales became legal through state-licensed dispensaries and authorized retailers. Yet it still isn’t safe for medical users to come out of the closet....
ON THE COVER: Elliott Italiano
Cover artist Elliott Italiano of Jamestown is a self-made glass artist. As a young adult, Italiano's interests centered on fashion, inspiring thoughts of pursuing a degree in luxury marketing and design. He relates to his past...
News Analysis — What, Me Warry?: Iran is a long-lasting asymmetric fight with those who desire death
MAD Magazine cover, Feb 2016: Donald Trump and Alfred E. Neuman We fought a military war; our opponents fought a political one. We sought physical attrition; our opponents aimed for our psychological exhaustion. In the process...
ON THE COVER: Mina Miki
Cover artist Mina Miki of Providence calls her baby blanket her longest friend. “His name is Blankie, but now he looks less like a blanket and more like a piece of tangled silk,” she says....
Doubt Is Compelling and Thought-Provoking
If you are one who prefers your shows have a neat and tidy ending with no loose ends, Ocean State Theatre’s current offering, Doubt: A Parable, may not be for […]
Born Yesterday Is Born Anew for Trump-Era Audiences
A larger-than-life narcissistic loudmouthed businessman with an eye for beautiful women comes to Washington, DC with plans to take the city — and thereby the country — by storm. […]
Northeast Choreographers Festival Brings Different Voices to the Stage
A native Rhode Islander for over three decades, I sat for the first time in my life in the Bishop McVinney Auditorium for a dance concert on Friday night. I was […]
Trump Carnage
That Donald Trump won the US Presidency should be old news to you now. What is a surprise is how few saw this coming. It seems like even those who […]
Motif Event Picks for November 9 – November 15
WED 9, THU 10, (today, tomorrow) and beyond… Trump resistance rallies. Check Facebook – we think there will be more, and there seem to be some in every major city. […]
The Night of the Laughing Gorilla
Twenty-four hours before The ProJo blew the cover on the Laughing Gorilla, I had used my sleuthing techniques to discover its existence, and I immediately told Motif, “I want […]
Rob’s Album Of The Week: Lydia Loveless’ Real
It’s rare when music is genuine and comes straight from the heart. There’s way too much of a hodgepodge of artists singing about materialistic crap like how big their house is, […]
Colorway Comes to Pour Judgement
On Friday, November 18th, the Western Mass rock band Colorway will be treating the Ocean State to a free show at Pour Judgement in Newport. Colorway combines Big Star hooks […]
Advice from the Trenches: Learning to Love Sugar
Dear C: I read an article on diabetes in the last issue of Motif that really got me thinking. My son goes to a school that feeds the kids breakfast […]