Steadfast Heartbreak: A Conversation with MorganEve Swain of The Huntress and Holder of Hands

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...

THE GREAT GATSBY BRINGS JAZZ AGE GLAMOUR TO PROVIDENCE NEXT WEEK

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...

2026 Food Truck Award Voting

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......

Where the Two Oceans Meet: Synergy Brings Art and Science Together at URI

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...

Screech: Platforming the Arts

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...

Grounds for Celebration: A conversation with Rik Kleinfeldt of New Harvest Coffee Roasters

(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...

Learn How To Homebrew: The Rhode Island Brewing Society

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...

Space Cowboy Newt is Turning Heartbreak Into Harp-Pop

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....

Proving Day 2026!: Recording Studio Celebrates Talent and Builds Connection

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...

Roots Report

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...

Rhode Island Haunts

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 & Closed

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...

What else is on the Ballot?: On November 3, Rhode Islanders will have the chance to vote on five bond measures. Here’s a quick guide.

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...

ON THE COVER: Mishki Thompson

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...

Simsalabim Sabrina: How a ’90s US-sitcom Totally Bewitched Kids in Germany & Austria

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...

Smuggling in Social Commentary: One actor takes on 12 characters and issues of immigration

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,...

SAME DIFFERENCE: Finding Survival-Driven Solidarity In A Fractured Society

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,...

An All-New, Reimagined “The Bodyguard the Musical” Returns to PPAC October 23 – 25, 2026

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...

Bands Battle Fiercely in Great Weather

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...

Roots Report

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...

WITCHES BREW AND SPOOKY BEERS

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 Map

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...

ON THE COVER: Nilton Cárdenas

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...

Magda León: An Immigrant Woman Full of Fire

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...

The Art of Giving Back: Nilton Cárdenas Is Creating More Than Art

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...

OUR HERITAGE. OUR FUTURE.: Guest Editor's Letter

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...

WONDER OF THE WORLD: More Than One Wrong Way To Take The Plunge!

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...

Getaway: Drives too slowly, but gets you there

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...

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING: Or Maybe Malicious Melancholy, Masked Revelry And Tongue Fencing

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...

Rudy Cheeks — Passing of a True RI Icon: A personal perspective and remembrance

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...

Stuff to Do

Grave Concern: Historical cemeteries beckon volunteers to final resting places

You see them all over Rhode Island: white rectangular placards on metal poles — like bus stop signs — beside a highway, near a school, tucked between houses or in unexpected corners of land. They’re markers for historical cemeteries. And RI — a state of only 1,214 square miles — has more than 3,000. Pegee Malcolm, chairwoman […]

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Top 5 Fun Things To Do: October 17 – 23

THU 18 Empty Bowls: A unique benefit for the RI Community Food Bank, fill a (locally made!!!) artisan bowl from food from almost three dozen local eateries. 5:30pm. Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, 60 Rhodes Pl, Cranston. emptybowls2018.brownpapertickets.com THU 18 – SAT 27 The Underland: TEN31’s immersive Halloween spookening. 10:31pm. TEN31 Productions, 249 Roosevelt Ave, Pawtucket. […]

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Roots Report: An Interview with John Lodge

Okee dokee folks… I had an opportunity to speak with John Lodge, bassist, singer and songwriter of the iconic band The Moody Blues. Lodge will be bringing his solo tour to the Greenwich Odeum on Sunday, October 21. The Moody Blues were formed in Birmingham, England in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny […]

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WomensWork Is Off to a Solid Start with a Sold-Out Limited Run of My Left Breast

  Led by founder and creative director Lynne Collinson, the new women-forward theaterecollaborative WomensWork is off to a strong start with their inaugural production of Susan Miller’s autobiographical drama My Left Breast, playing to sold-out houses this weekend, Oct 12-13, 2018. WomensWork’s October limited run of My Left Breast marks the new group’s foray into […]

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Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” and “The Gilded Six Bits” on Stage at Mixed Magic

Mixed Magic Theatre takes on a substantial challenge in dramatizing the two most well-known short stories by Zora Neale Hurston, “Sweat” and “The Gilded Six-Bits.” Characterized by subtle word play, idiomatic dialect, puns and heavy-handed biblical allusions, Hurston’s fiction has generally not translated well to the stage. Mixed Magic wisely inserts Hurston as a character, […]

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Motherfucker! Epic explores recovery in their season of Conviction

Epic Theatre continues its season, themed “Conviction,” by tackling one of the ultimate tests of conviction. Stephen Alby Guirgis’s 2011 play, Motherfucker with the Hat, tackles a challenge of addiction that is less often discussed but perhaps the most difficult: preventing a relapse. After the intense season opener, We Are Proud to Present…, this is […]

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Universally Acknowledged: Trinity’s multilayered Pride & Prejudice is thought-provoking and delightful

One day in high school, I sat in an assembly where some earnest actors tried to show us how “edgy” Shakespeare was. I remember thinking the whole thing was pointless, since by then, we all knew that Shakespeare was filled with sex, violence and murder. The REAL challenge – or so I thought – would […]

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An Interview with Trinity Rep’s Conversationalist-in-Residence, Christina Bevilacqua

I had the recent opportunity to speak with Trinity Rep’s conversationalist-in-residence, Christina Bevilacqua. Our conversation follows: Alison O’Donnell: What does a conversationalist-in-residence do, and what brought you to play that role at Trinity Rep? Christina Bevilacqua: I kind of made up the title! In the 11 years I spent producing humanities-based conversations at the Providence Athenaeum […]

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