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...
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...
I recently sat down with local songwriter and producer Lunchbagg at my favorite spot (White Electric) to talk about his latest release, The Holy and the Hostile, which came out on Monday, January 23. There is so much to enjoy off this album; the beats are bass-heavy and progressive and whether he is rapping over a party banger or […]
Wait Until Dark is a tense cat and mouse thriller featuring some first-rate performances. Susy Hendrix, who is blind, is all alone in her basement apartment after her photographer husband, Sam (Mike Pugliese), goes out of town for a few days. Before long, Susy is visited by three men with sinister motives, Mike Talman […]
You can find the best hip-hop coming up from the underground. Through his unique vocal delivery and pristine rapping skills, Aesop Rock has been on a higher plane since his start in Long Island in the late ‘90s. He’s strikingly original and is continuously pushing the boundaries of an endlessly creative genre. His live performances […]
Epic Theatre Company has announced “a series of programs designed to respond to the country’s political climate,” beginning on Sunday, January 22, with a one-off performance of Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? by Eric Russell Bentley, a 1972 play that uses the the real words of questions and answers in testimony before […]
Wed 18 Dean Ween Group: Hot off their latest album, these funk rockers are on a national tour. Performing with Mike Dillion Vibes. The Met, 8pm, 1005 Main St, Pawtucket. themetri.com Thu 19 Drink & INK: Are you interested in printing, but feeling a little hesitant to take the plunge on one of our full-fledged […]
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is one of the most well-known and recognizable plays of the past century. The film version starring Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Burl Ives was the third highest grossing release of 1958, and the vision of Taylor, widely acknowledged as one of the classic feminine beauties of the era, […]
During alternative rock’s heyday during the late ‘80s and ‘90s, Ween was getting weird and pushing their own artistic abilities while their contemporaries were competing with each other to see who could be the loudest. Ranging from psychedelia, lo-fi and all things experimental, Gene and Dean Ween (also known as Aaron Freedman and Mickey Melchiondo) […]
There are bands that do unique and weird things, and then there’s The Flaming Lips. Things have changed a lot since the band started out as “the punks on acid” in the early ‘80s and then gradually became an enigmatic and psychedelic act of wonder. The core members of Wayne Coyne, Michael Ivins and Steven […]
POP Emporium is an immense antique shop in a nondescript warehouse near Smith Hill, beautifully curated like a captivating museum of days gone by. Every square foot is full of more treasures than can be absorbed in a glance, from vintage furniture to movie posters to figurines and everything in between. The man behind POP […]
Creativity and originality play a major role when it comes to being an unsigned up-and-coming artist. Many artists follow trends in order to gain some momentum, but that is not the case with young up-and-coming artist Khary. Khary is an artist of his own and takes pride in developing his own lane built off of […]
