Babylon cover art; band photo; image credits: The Huntress and Holder of Hands At a recent record-release concert in Providence, Rhode Island, MorganEve Swain teased a nearly full house that her band The Huntress and Holder...
Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade. The party doesn't have to end after Halloween weekend. Keep the festivities going with a trip back to the Roaring Twenties when the North American tour of The Great Gatsby...
The 2026 Food Truck Awards are coming up soon – November 10, the day before Veteran’s Day. We’re excited to make it a true industry night – no food trucks will have to serve anything......
Artwork: AMOC by Ewa Romaszewicz in collaboration with Ambarish Karmalkar, PhD. For many of us, our most common run-ins with the scientific disciplines happen in two places: the classroom or a news headline. I think it’s...
What does it feel like to be in a room beaming with creative thinkers and artists? What does it look like when a group of motivational, dedicated, hard-working artists comes together? What creative forces can...
(New Harvest “It’s Party Time” poster; poster design: Britta Gustafson / New Harvest; photo credit: Sean Carlson) Photos by Ampersand Creative Co. From one former industrial site to another, New Harvest Coffee Roasters has expanded from humble...
L-R: President Patrick Canary and Secretary Chris Meringolo. Photo by Scott Barnett. Have you ever wanted to homebrew? Yes? I have great news! The RI Brewing Society is holding a “Learn to Homebrew Day.” The American...
When I sat down on a comfy couch at Big Nice Studio in Carrington, RI, for an interview with Space Cowboy Newt, one of the first things they told me was that they’re a rambler....
A new chapter for digital recording studio, The Proving Ground, has begun and owner and producer, Dylan Titus, is ready to celebrate two-and-a-half years of operation by putting together an event showcasing artists who have...
Okee dokee folks… Soon we should know whether this country is going to completely fall into fascism, erupt into civil war, or maintain democracy, as it should. A few weeks ago, Tom Morello presented the Power...
Swan Point Cemetery. Some of the eeriest places in RI are ready for you to check out, if you dare. As the first crisp, damp breaths of autumn begin to catch at the lungs and the trees...
Open: Rollers: A new sports bar has arrived in Providence as of June 12. Rollers hosts watch parties, serves a variety of diner-style food and drinks, and offers both private and semi-private party events. The spot...
1. Higher Education Facilities Bond Measure -- $275 million This bond would use $165 million to create an integrated health building at the URI campus, open to the public, which would also be used for labs...
For cover artist Mishki Thompson of Hopkinton, love helped her conquer a disability and embark on a journey of learning and practicing the art of beadworking, and passing on her Indigenous traditions to the next...
It’s 2003, Thursday afternoon, in a quiet little town called Eberndorf, in the deep south of Austria, surrounded by fields, trees, and medieval churches; 10-year-old me is in my parents’ living room, glued to the...
Photo by Cat Laine. The logistics, physical, and emotional demands of the production are mind-boggling – one actor spending 80 minutes morphing among 12 characters with unique accents and mannerisms while delivering lines almost non-stop and,...
Henry Nwaru in SAME DIFFERENCE at Wilbury Theatre Group. Photo by Erin X. Smithers. It’s 1993 in Providence. A gang leader from Harlem lands at his ex-girlfriend's apartment in the middle of the night — wounded,...
A reimagined production of the international, award-winning musical The Bodyguard will arrive at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), October 23 – 25, 2026, as part of the Theatre’s 2026/2027 *Encore Series. Based on the 1992...
All photos by Lillian MK Photo. RI Battle of the Bands had a smooth run this year, every performance dodging the monsoons that have plagued past iterations. The year started out with 16 highly accomplished, but...
Okee dokee folks… I mentioned this in my column a few months ago and now it is coming close to being (IS) a major issue. GASOLINE. Before the mango moron started his war of distraction...
We all know that women were the first to make beer, right? It was discovered by accident when grains were used to make other foods digestible. Dried grain was stored and used to make bread....
Haunted Attractions 1. Factory of Terror Terror experience for all ages, including a variety of imaginative themes and thorough design. 120 Pearl Street, Fall River, MA 774-415-0153 factoryofterror.com 2. Scary Acres Fall festivities with the main attraction - a three-part terror experience...
Cover artist Nilton Cárdenas of Cranston refuses to stand still. “I am constantly moving, and creating art,” he says in an interview at Sharks Peruvian Cuisine on Broad Street in Central Falls. And when he’s not...
Photos by the author. Magda León is more than a multidisciplinary artist; she is an immigrant woman who uses art to explore her identity, her roots, and her connection to community. When I asked her how...
Photo by Scott Lapham. For the Rhode Island artist, educator and muralist, creativity has become a way to open doors, strengthen community and help others discover possibilities within themselves. For Nilton Cárdenas, giving back does not begin...
Every Hispanic Heritage Month, we are given an opportunity to look back.We celebrate the pioneers who came before us, the traditions they preserved, the institutions they built, and the sacrifices they made so generations that...
Photo by Dave Cantelli. Ever rummaged through your spouse’s sweater drawer expecting to find argyles, yet instead stumbling across a secret fetish so utterly demented that it immediately sent you bolting toward a new life? Deftly...
Rachael Warren as Clare. Photo by Mark Turek. If there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, The Getaway Driver at Trinity Repertory Company is it. The world premiere of the two-person play...
Photo by Jesse Dufault. Hark, spectators of the realm! If thy soul doth hunger for a "reverent irreverence" turning a 77-seat black box into a roaring arena of wretched romance, get thee to the Burbage Theatre...
RI Music Hall of Fame plaque honoring Rudy Cheeks/The Fabulous Motels/The Young Adults. (Photo: Michael Bilow) Much has already been written on the passing Sep 18 at age 76 of Bruce McCrae, who used the stage name...
Eight-year-old Cecilia is poised to become (we’re pretty sure) the youngest food truck operator in RI with the grand opening of Cecilia’s Snacks at the 2023 Motif Food Truck Awards. Assisted by her parents Jay Palmari and Karen Maguire, she offers pre-packaged snacks and cold drinks from a cart she and her father selected on […]
I am on the bow of a sport fishing boat off the coast of Montague Island, the second-largest unpopulated island in the US. The Gulf of Alaska is a steely gray that reflects the gathering clouds over the sun like an oily puddle. It is the first slightly sunny day in weeks, and we begin […]
Among apps for bicycling, OrganicMaps — organicmaps.app — stands head and shoulders above all others. Its main feature is turn-by-turn navigation with voice guidance, optimized for cycling routes although supporting hiking, walking, and even driving. Navigation data is derived from the crowd-sourced OpenStreetMap project, so it includes paths that are often missing from other apps, […]
A new subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is increasing in prevalence with initial US detection primarily in the New England area. Labeled EG.5, it was discovered outside the US on Feb 17 and is a minor mutation from the XBB.1.9.2 subvariant. The entire lineage, including XBB.1.9.2, EG.5, and a further subvariant EG.5.1, […]
Aries: You rock the social scene, connecting with those who share your interests. A love affair comes under review along with your usual favorite pastimes. Some activities and people seem to have lost their initial attraction. Give it some thought before you ditch the people, activities, and events that fill your life. Change is good […]
It is a fact that people use substances, both legal and illegal, for all sorts of reasons. Some are more socially acceptable while others are relegated to back rooms and locked bathroom stalls. All can have a positive or negative impact on a person and, if not used safely, can cause illness or death. Overdose […]
RI is seeking a new state poet, often informally known as the “poet laureate,” for a five-year term beginning January 2024. The role carries an honorarium of $1,000 annually. Applications close at 11:59pm on August 21, 2023, and the web portal will strictly enforce this deadline. Established by law in 1987, the position is open […]
Voting for the 2023 Drink Awards is now open at motifri.com/foodawards. The celebration of the winners of both the drink awards and the food truck awards will take place on Aug 14, a Monday holiday, at R1 Indoor Karting, 100 Higginson Ave, Lincoln. Beer Amber/ Red/ Brown Neapolitan Brown by Crooked CurrentBattle Scar by LineSiderAngry […]
“There are all these journeys of learning and being open to trying something even if someone tells you it’s not possible.” – Jen Long The whale guitar is becoming an important artifact in the RI music and art scene. Jen Long turned her love of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick into an iconic piece of playable art […]
Hollywood seems like a distant and peculiar land to most of us in RI. It entertains us from a distance, but we don’t usually think of it as directly affecting us. Right now, however, there are both a writers’ strike and an actors’ strike taking place that impact the part of Rhode Island that engages […]
