Crook Point Brewing Company, 65 Massasoit Ave., East Providence; photo credit: Sean Carlson Over the past year, The Grind has gleamed as one of Rhode Island’s coffee gems. Set up at Crook Point Brewing Company (65...
Natasha Hodgson in the Broadway Company of Operation Mincemeat. Photo by Matt Crockett. The Tony Award® and Olivier Award®-winning musical launches the North American leg of its world tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center September...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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!...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
“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...
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...
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...
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...
As the wildfires in Northern California continue to blaze, many large-scale cannabis farms are being destroyed. The counties of Sonoma and Mendocino are home to some of the largest scale cannabis farms in California, all of which were in the midst of their annual outdoor harvest season (often referred to as “croptober”). There is an […]
RIP, Yelberton Abraham For New England football fans of a certain age, the passing of Y.A. Tittle brought back a ton of good memories. Tittle was the famed quarterback of the New York Giants in the early 1960s. He was the NFL MVP in 1963 and held records for most TD passes and yardage back […]
Friday, November 10 marks the start of the “Biggest show in the smallest state!” as fans gather at the Rhode Island Convention Center & Dunkin Donuts Center for a weekend of indulgence. In plain language, a bunch of NERDS are taking over Providence. This year, it’s more true than ever because Rhode Island Comic Con will […]
When my highly creative editor posed this question to me, I jumped at the chance to report on the subject. I thought it would be an easy assignment; a “journalistic slam-dunk” if you will. Yet, as I attempted to compose this article, I realized the answer might not be so cut and dried. The subject […]
If you had people, friends or relatives in Puerto Rico when Maria attacked with devastating ferocity, this scenario may sound familiar: “It took over 40 phone calls, messages and weeks of trying to find out if my family was still alive.” According to the US Census, about 3.3% of RI residents were from Puerto Rico […]
On Tuesday, September 26, 2017 the Federal Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a press statement about Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs): “STDs are at a record high, indicating urgent need for addressing protection.” The increase was seen by director Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH as “a clear warning of a growing threat.” This announcement was eerily […]
It’s All Hallow’s Eve in Li’l Rhody and you feel like it’s a little hollowed out. But with a bit of creativity, you can get spooky like a Rhode Islander and show your local pride. Rhode Island has plenty of local landmarks to choose from that provide fantastic costume inspiration. Get creative! Dress yourself as […]
Welcome to Metal Madness my fellow Metalheads, covering all things metal, metalcore, deathcore and hardcore in the Providence area. I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who was at the Kingsmen show on October 8 (motifri.com/kingsmen). As someone who has been playing music for a long time, I wanted to speak to the […]
Aries: The ongoing relationship battles and reconciliations continue. Discussions get hot and heavy. Money, shared values and resources and what’s mine, what’s yours will come up. A new direction is called for. What is good for you? You’ll need to give things some serious thought and look within yourself to find the answer. Taurus: Action centers […]
Since its founding in 1636 as “a shelter for those distressed of conscience,” Rhode Island has attracted freethinkers and dissenters and those whose oddball beliefs made them unwelcome elsewhere, so it should not be surprising that a number of strange stories have been passed down to us through the years. And when it comes […]
