Artist of the Year: Favorite Song: Favorite Music Video: NOVA ONE; "chlorine" by NOVA ONE; "chlorine" - NOVA ONE (Dir. Frankie Ferrari) nova one: “nova won!” Providence’s own nova one won (!!) four 2026 Motif Music Awards: “artist...
Photo by Matthew Murphy. The North American tour of Disney’s The Lion King last played the Providence Performing Arts Center in 2017. After nearly ten years, The Lion King is back astounding Providence for a limited...
“Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). This is the core theme behind William Shakespeare's darkest comedy, Measure for Measure, one of Shakespeare’s most exciting, underperformed and underappreciated plays, currently presented by Burbage...
Smithfield, RI: A town known for its forests, trails, ponds, and well, wealth. An unlikely location for a potential AI-Data Center, one may think. Yet, this rural community, despite data center construction being illegal under...
This is the story of visiting Providence’s newest Rotisserie and Bistro, Thermia, and being so intrigued by its menu and feeling so welcomed by the staff, that I went twice in one week! To give...
Check out extensive listings for every show we could find this season. But some are bigger or just fundamentally represent summer in our eclectic, hyperactive, tiny-yet-overachieving state. Here’s a selection of special events to keep...
“Industry wants us to believe the sky will fall if there’s reform," said Council President Rachel Miller. "But for working families, the sky is already falling..." Council President Rachel Miller (Ward 13) “In front of you is...
The eggplant piece featured on the cover of Motif is the first completed work in Chenlu Hou’s Garden series, making it a perfect fit for this issue’s theme of Summer. A low-fire terracotta sculpture, airbrushed and...
[See prior update: motifri.com/iran-war-update-01] The Iran war cannot continue as it is for much longer, and this is a result of simple math. Time is running out for energy and food supply US Consumer Price Index for All...
Voting is now closed -- Join us to see who was selected Wednesday, May 276 – 10pmMyrtle, East Providence Join us for the 4th annual Motif Spoken Awards! We are excited to be returning to Myrtle to celebrate RI’s spoken word...
Ann Morrison and Marcus Phillips in the National Tour of KIMBERLY AKIMBO. Photo by Joan Marcus KIMBERLY AKIMBO is a musical with a lot of heart, a lot of wit, and a lot of rave reviews...
Processed with VSCO with 6 preset When Steve DelMonico (vocals/guitar) approached John Faraone (drums) with an impossibly unique band name, there was no way of knowing that 10 years later they’d be sitting at Nolan’s with...
Photo: Dave Rezendes. John Faraone: a man of many bands, many instruments, and one poetic voice. While John wouldn’t call himself a poet, I certainly believe that his lyrics are simply stanzas waiting to be printed....
Photo by James Brooks. Okee dokee folks… I have referenced the Jethro Tull song, “Too Old to Rock & Roll, Too Young to Die,” A few times in my 22 years of writing for Motif, and...
(Photo credit: Keith J.G. McCurdy, from the cover art of Vudu Sister’s Adynata; photograph of the art installation LO SGUARDO - Humanitas - Physis by sculptor Igor Mitoraj at the Neopolis Archaeological Park of Siracusa...
Mount Pleasant. Elmhurst. The Valley Arts District. These are all neighborhoods whose offerings I thought I knew well, having worked in and around Providence over the last few years. But you can certainly miss a...
Buddy Mott. Once upon a time, if you wanted a tattoo, one of the things you could do was traipse to Newport from any of the four corners of the world and get yourself a tattoo...
The actual declaration of Independence was first proclaimed to the people of Newport from this building in July 1776. (Photo by Maureen O'Gorman) It doesn't take long for a person new to Rhode Island to find...
The RI Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced a major initiative to repair potholes caused by a harsh winter. A new Pothole Service Requests Dashboard site on the web – https://www.dot.ri.gov/travel/potholes.php – allows the public to...
The tattoo artist who goes by Mish, of Fall River, MA, created this month’s cover. “I got the nickname when I was younger, and it just kinda stuck,” she says. Also, it stirs a little...
On the “Weekend Update” satirical news segment on Saturday Night Live. anchor Colin Jost displayed a snapshot of an unhinged rant laced with profanity in the form of a Donald Trump post to Truth Social,...
VOTING OPEN NOW! VOTE HERE Wednesday, May 276 - 10pmMyrtle, East Providence Join us for the 4th annual Motif Spoken Awards! We are excited to be returning to Myrtle to celebrate RI’s spoken word community. The live celebration,...
VOTE HERE! "May your tattoo ink never run dry," as the ancient Portlandian blessing goes, has rarely been more applicable. Motif is proud to partner again with Narragansett Brewery to bring you the RI Tattoo Awards,...
By Lillian MK Photography By Olivia Lunger By Izzy Cooke ...
The Music Awards went off without a hitch this year, and over the course of the evening more than 400 local music lovers dropped by to dance, listen, and cheer on fellow musicians. We'll have...
It’s often said (well, I definitely say this), that some of the deepest conversations and connected moments can happen while one is sitting in a car. This is certainly true for the duo, band, sisterhood...
Image: Olivia Lunger. Local Civil War re-enactor Bill Sherman was having trouble recruiting young people into the hobby, so he hit on a novel idea that is perfectly suited to Gen Z. He immediately telephoned his...
The Continental Congress, befooled. April Fool’s Day originated among the French a few years into the Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin had been pleading with them for any sort of assistance. The brand...
If you have been a craft beer lover over this past decade, you may remember when the first Rhode Island Brewery Passport was released. It was changed to an app in 2020. Six years later,...
After attending Chalumeau’s release party for their album BLUE at The Met in Pawtucket last August, I wrote that if you ever got the chance to see them perform live, you should jump on it....
Goddamn. Goddamn Amsterdam. If you’ve been over to The Eddy in the last few weeks, you may have noticed a cheeky little addition to their cocktail cards. Take a sip and you’ll likely find yourself murmuring goddamn. Amsterdam. As you go in for another pull from your coupe. Yes, the drink’s called Goddamn Amsterdam and […]
When you meet Tom Paolino, there is something you immediately see — a depth and a spirituality that is both calming and intriguing. He’s the real thing, with a dedication to his craft and a gratitude for everything that has happened to him and around him. There are no small moments in his life — […]
What determines a hit? Obviously nobody really knows for certain, or we’d all be millionaires with our songs saturating the airwaves from sea to shining sea. There are, however, a few timeless concepts in the music world that guide an artist or producer in focusing their project in a certain direction. And in listening to […]
Stars shine and then they fade away, much like people do. Those who once made a mark on the music scene are destined, if lucky, to have their glimmer that once captivated appreciative crowds remembered. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then a cover band should be the greatest form of gratitude. I’ve […]
“If I could stick a knife in my heart Suicide right on stage Would it be enough for your teenage lust Would it help to ease the pain? Ease your brain?” – Jagger/Richards, “It’s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It) “We created rock ‘n’ roll from our own image, it’s our child […]
“ I want a piece of art to speak to me … to evoke something in me … to [make me] feel something,” says Valcourt of her art choices. “Many folks have discovered Warren so I am working within that process. And there’s a great artistic energy here,” says lovely Karen Valcourt, owner of the […]
When renowned masked puppet workshop Big Nazo produces visionary ghosts, no thin airy shoals are these. Charles Dickens prefaced his classic 1843 novella, “I have endeavoured in this ghostly little book, to raise the ghost of an idea, which shall not put my readers out of humor with themselves, with each other, with the season, […]
Assembly Theater, in Harrisville, is presenting a black and white version of the yuletide classic Miracle on 34th Street, performed by the Rhode Island Stage Ensemble. The show opened December 6 and will be performed December 13 through 15. Paul Tourville plays Kris Kringle, who is hired as a department store Santa by Macy’s. He […]
Massholes and Connecticutians now have a new reason to head to the Ocean State: no sales tax on art. That’s right, the 7 percent price increase is gone. No more. Dead. And may it forever rest in peace. Of course art purchasers benefit most from this abolishment, as they no longer have to pay, for […]
