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...
Isham, Sheila. Teth (#8 Creation Series). 1972. Acrylic spray on canvas. Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI. (Image courtesy of the Newport Art Museum.) Quite some time ago, I read a quip that the art of diplomacy...
As an international student a year into Rhode Island, yet still only a breath into America, I finally found a question that I might be able to answer – this is my continued exploration of: What...
On Thursday, For Colored Girls, a series of poetic monologues written by Ntozake Shange, will be performed at Aurora on 276 Westminster Street at 6pm. For Colored Girls tells the stories of seven women who have suffered oppression in a racist and sexist society. The event will benefit Sojourner House, a comprehensive domestic violence agency based […]
Brooklyn is a musical hotbed and it always has been. It’s a place that experiences constant change of its urban landscape, rising rents and the steady commercialization of everything (does dollar pizza still exist in New York City?). Despite all of these issues, there are always bands coming out of the borough across the bridge […]
When prepping for the debut of his spring line in 1994, iconic apparel designer Todd Oldham did something a bit unexpected. Searching for inspiration, he set wood chips on fire in a metal trash can and photographed the wild blaze. The hot result was Flame Ensemble, a dye-sublimation printed stretch flannel dress paired with matching […]
In my last column, I introduced you to my youngest contestant so far, and this week I welcome my oldest subject to date. Clocking in at half a century and still clocking in at a day job in between performing with his band and supporting other area bands is a man so dedicated to Rhode Island that he named […]
Despite the constant changes in music within both the industry and the sound, one thing that has always stood strong is the art of playing guitar. On Sunday, May 8 at the Providence Performing Arts Center, Generation Axe will be taking the stage, featuring the virtuoso Steve Vai, heavy metal badass Zakk Wylde, Nuno Bettencourt […]
I remember the day I walked by the corner of Hope Street and Burlington, where the restaurant formerly known as Blaze used to stand, and it was no longer there. I was overcome with melancholy at the realization that I didn’t spend enough time there — sipping their infamous mojitos (motifri.com/goldilocks) and enjoying their pizzas […]
May is bringing all sorts of genres to Providence. This month you can catch a little bit of everything, from punk to grind and even some lighter pop punk. For all the pop punk fans, A Day To Remember will be stopping by Lupo’s on the 10th for their East Coast tour with Parkway Drive […]
It’s May and in the spirit of warm days to come, we often turn toward agave-based spirits. With the Motif Music Awards in mind, I think something a little more brooding, a little more boozy and stirred, rather than shaken, is appropriate. Grab a glass and swirl to your favorite song with this baby. What: […]
The debate over whether alcohol or cannabis is safer to consume has been the topic of many discussions in the medical and political worlds. There is a large amount of evidence about the health benefits and deficits for both substances, and here I will compare the two. The short-term effects of alcohol are plentiful: impaired motor […]
Aries: Money, cash flow, spending and saving occupy your time and energy these days. You’re tempted by beautiful things that cost too much. Hold on, you really want to plan and save for that trip of a lifetime or that big dream you’ve always had. It won’t be easy, but it is doable. So do it! Taurus: […]
