You've Still Got a Friend: Theater by the Sea presents a rousing world premiere tribute

Hunter Brown, Allie Seibold, and Seth Eliser in You've Still Got a Friend, playing at Bill Hanney's Theatre By The Sea from August 20 - September 13, 2026. Photo by Michael Derr Okee dokee folks… Tonight, at Theatre By The...

They didn’t strike, they picketed: Local librarians find a new way to educate the public.

Photo by Steve Ahlquist. The unionized workers of the Community Libraries of Providence have been without a contract for two years now. Their patience, which had been wearing thin, was stretched to the breaking point by...

Flickers 44: Celebrating film from around the world and right here in the Ocean State

Photo: L-R: Pénélope Rose, Manya Glassman, Emeline Easton, and K. Elisa Garcia. by Mike Ryan. The Rhode Island International Film Festival, also known as Flickers, took place August 4 through August 9, bringing filmmakers, actors, industry...

Welcome to the Neighborhood: RI’s Newest Black-Operated Museum

I think museums and the culture around them have historically gotten a bad rap. When you think of museums, you might associate them with classism, inaccessibility, and wealthy donors and patrons. There’s also the issue...

Lawn Beers to Harvest Cheers: Summer's Last Pours to Autumn's Fresh Taps

As the leaves change to amber hues, so do fall beers. Our local brewers are excited about the opportunity to offer these loved styles of craft beer. If you are looking forward to cozy sweaters...

Fall Happenings Map

Illustration by Sadie Levine. 1. Adams Farm (pumpkins, hay rides, corn mazes) Plus: Variety fall farm stand 158 Burnt Swamp Road, Cumberland 401-714-4425 2. Appleland Orchard (apples) Plus: Cider, wine, and donuts 135 Smith Avenue, Greenville 401-949-3690 3.  Barden Family Orchard (apples, pumpkins) Plus: Farmers...

Roots Report

Okee dokee folks… I just realized that I have been attending concerts for 50 years now. In that span of time I have seen countless shows. I honestly have no idea how many I have...

YourFriendM00n Wants You to Know You’re Not Alone

Moon Leone didn’t set out to make your run-of-the-mill pop songs. They build whole worlds, embodying different characters and using visuals to tell stories that ultimately help people heal from trauma. Performing as YourFriendM00n, they...

Art Focused Forum

On August 12, Motif cohosted a forum on the Arts in Providence featuring Democratic Primary Mayoral candidates Brett Smiley and David Morales. In Providence, the real election typically happens in the primary. The winner will go...

In Their Own Words: 2026

Every election cycle, Motif brings you the candidates in their own words so you can try to compare apples to apples. It’s our way of contributing to the political process while not having the fact-checking...

ecoRI News Roundup

Environmental Organizations Endorse Foulkes for Governor PROVIDENCE — The Providence Streets Coalition, a grassroots activist organization devoted to increasing funding, safety, and reliability in the state’s transit network, announced July 21 that it is backing former...

ON THE COVER: Nicholas "Niko" Tolentino

For the cover of Motif’s Fall Guide, painter and muralist Nicholas “Niko” Tolentino of Cranston drew inspiration from his childhood days, he relates in an interview at White Electric Coffee Co-Op in Providence. Roger Williams Park...

No Concert is an Island

Centerville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket hosted its first live music event in August. It started big with the Island Roads Fest, featuring popular reggae/ rock bands including Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, Iration, Action Bronson, DENM, Bumpin...

Tatting at the Convention Center

Stepping into a tattoo convention without a tattoo or an array of piercings can be intimidating, like stepping into a gallery show without reading the title first. Aside from a pair of basic ear studs,...

Arts Focus Forum

August 12, 6:30 - 8:30 PM Southside Cultural Center - 393 Broad Street, Providence What do the candidates for Mayor of Providence have in mind for the future of arts engagement in the “Creative Capital”? Find...

Heat Advisory Thu–Fri: Dangerous heat indices up to 100°F expected

Heat Advisory in effect from August 6, 11:00 AM EDT until August 7, 08:00 PM EDT At Providence, a Heat Advisory is effective Thu, Aug 6, 11am, to Fri, Aug 7, 8pm. Afternoon temperatures/heat indices are...

MEOWS, MALTS, DOGS AND DRAFTS: Have a pint to rescue a paw

Can art by Joey Visco  Dogs and drafts? Is there any better way to celebrate yappy hour? If you are an animal and craft beer lover, this is an event you do not want to miss!...

NOW IT’S OUR TURN: Local team seeks to keep up positive momentum from World Cup

Photo by Sindayiganza Photography. The FIFA World Cup tournament was full of thrills, drama, chaos, unity, and live television shots of devastated children in tears after their team lost a heartbreaking match. The final whistle brought...

Boatload of music: Titanic drama

Matthew Provençal as Thomas Andrews in ‘Titanic: The Broadway Musical’ at Bill Hanney's Theatre By The Sea July 23 – August 15, 2026. Photo by Mark Turek. The challenge to staging a production of “Titanic: The...

2026 Tattoo Awards Gallery Wall

The Tattoo Awards featured a gallery wall populated by local artists. Here is a selection of the artwork on display! By Brianne Elizabeth @foxhallowart By Victori Leo Riel Grab Your Heart & Go by Allie Boyer @peaceflowercreations MONSTROELIZASUE by...

BTS with DMK: Lily Spencer

Photo by Jess Lee Images. I met Lily Spencer in an acting class taught by Eric Lutes, whom many television fans will remember from the 1990s sitcom “Caroline in the City.” Eric, who now lives in...

2026 Tattoo Award Winners

Rachel WS. Favorite Animal/ Favorite Floral Tara D’Agostino – Iron Lion Tattoo By the numbers, Tara D’Agostino got her first tattoo at the age of 15, picked up her own tattoo machine at the age of 19, opened...

The Long Game: River Shook Arrives Home

Photo by Jillian Clark. ​There’s no feeling quite like finally being able to fully step into your own, to truly embrace your whole self and carry yourself through the world with that mentality. Not an identity...

Roots Report

Kai Nanfelt. Okee dokee folks… Last weekend I went on a ten-hour, each way, road trip to play a show. The drive wasn’t so bad, but the music was horrible. As I have mentioned before, I...

The Butterfly’s Shadow

Photo by Isaac Laliberte Wards 2, 9 and 12 all report the same. Mendez wins in each! It appeared that Providence was perfectly poised to usher-in its first female mayor in history. The polls were closed and...

A Flicker of Flame

“You’re late, Brother,” she said, hovering outside the weathered cottage near a pebbly beach, indistinguishable from the shadows cast by moonlight that hit the thick hydrangeas. It was late in the evening of a seawind-chilled...

NecronomiCon Comes to Providence

The NecronomiCon is a biennial celebration of the works of HP Lovecraft and beyond, and throughout the genre of “weird fiction.” Centered in downtown Providence, it boasts four days of literary panels, readings from various...

American Caesar Salad

It’s almost Cthulhu – pardon my hiccup, I meant, “election” – season again. And if the tactics of these times don’t make your head swim and your bowls ache, as if you were being eviscerated...

ON THE COVER: Bob Eggleton

When cover artist Bob Eggleton of Warwick first got interested in art and started sketching nightmarish creatures, he recalls, an aunt asked him, “What’s drawing a monster gonna get you in life?” He’s spent the last...

GREASE

Skyler Shields (Kenickie) and the cast of the Theatre By The Sea (Wakefield, RI) production of “Grease” running thru July 18, 2026. Photo by Mark Turek. “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop! A-wop-bam-boom!” BY ALISON O’DONNELL ON JUNE 27, 2026 Grease is the...

Stuff to Do

Bikes Are Tools — People Are At The Center: Shift into gear with Rhode Island’s own worker-run community bicycle workshop

The sun is on your face and the wind blows through your hair (under your helmet, of course) as you coast down one of Providence’s rolling hills. You feel alive; a strong sense of freedom rising in your chest. Biking is amazing! As you near the bottom of the hill, you start pumping the brakes. […]

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Brett’s Bike Lane Blitz: Mayor Smiley’s siege at South Water St. threatens the future of bicycle travel

On the first Tuesday evening of this past April, a rain-soaked Kennedy Plaza saw a procession of constituents file into the ornate corridors of City Hall. The days-long deluge had only just broken as thick clusters of invested individuals climbed the marble stairs and crowded into the City Council chambers. There were no empty seats […]

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Surfing Pavement: A conversation with NBX owner Matt Bodziony about why we bike

It rained the night before, the roads are slick with water. The smell of fresh earth lingers in the morning air and the grass is bright green with spring’s first touches. With the absence of traffic, the sound of the ocean rushing against the rocky coast is deafening. A group of early morning bikers meet […]

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Vials of pee and the fight against misogyny: Contemporary Theater Company’s Predictor tells a 1960s story that resonates today

Ah, the sixties. We had flared pants, student anti-war protests, and the state’s authoritarian grip on bodily autonomy. Of course, there are also some differences between now and then. For instance, back then if you thought you might be pregnant, you had to go to the (male) doctor’s office with your husband (obviously you had […]

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Carmageddon: Activating the bicycle network in response to the Washington Bridge debacle

Driving has recently taken a turn for the worse in RI. Last December, officials closed the westbound span of the Washington Bridge, narrowly averting an actual calamity, they say. In doing so, they also summoned the specter of Carmageddon across the East Bay and Southeastern Massachusetts. Traffic on I-195 now slows to a crawl in […]

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Two Feet, Two Bucks*: Exploring scenic RI via bus

Most of the bad things people say about RIPTA are true except when they say RIPTA is poorly managed or dangerous. For the money it spends, RI actually excels at putting clean, reliable buses on the road. Traffic congestion, rather than mismanagement, is why they don’t run as punctually as they could. The other big […]

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