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....
On February 28, after 20 years of being a community staple for first dates, Super Tuesday regulars, and movie fanatics alike, CWTheaters (previously called CinemaWorld) was forced to shut its doors for good. The decline...
Last year, I had a blast and a half working on a fun commercial shoot. I landed the gig because the fella producing, Josh Kirk, asked around to find an actor to portray the client’s...
Photo: Jenn Lombari. @jennlombariphotography ssa lin has been making a local splash like a rockin’ rainstorm after a record-setting blizzard, since releasing her first single, “tallboys,” at the end of 2025. The feedback has been good,...
I tell my friends all the time: don’t ask for my opinion if you really don’t want it. I have been called the Dutch Uncle, the one who holds no punches. I tell you like it is from my perspective and I don’t play nice when it comes to Spoken word/Poetry. So when my sister […]
Hi Nick, Borrowing from Eric B and Rakim, it’s been a long time, I shouldnt’ve left you without a dope note to read through. The end of the summer into fall threw me some curveballs and unlike the Red Sox, I didn’t see them break until I had already swung. For me, the onset of […]
Cindy Gilman knew something was wrong, but just could not put her finger on it. Three weeks before Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, when four coordinated terrorist attacks launched by Al-Qaeda upon the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in the Washington, D.C. area killed more than 3,000 people, the well-known Rhode Island […]
PLAY THE GAME HERE Click the link to play… How many faces do you see? Are you sure? Count again; some are not as they seem. Submit your answers to Editor@motifmagazine.net to be entered to win tickets to a party with the monsters themselves– featuring B.Dolan (w/ live band), Apathy, Big Nazo performing with DirtyDurdie, Boogie Boy […]
The market for frightening, Halloween-related theme events is at its seasonal peak and Providence, especially, affords many opportunities for experiential adventures beyond the standard haunted corn maze parking lots. Walking along Benefit Street alone can be a Lovecraft-themed adventure, as evidenced by the ambitious Executor that Theater of Thought delivered a couple of years back. […]
Terrifying walk-throughs, haunted hay rides, ghosts and family fun in Rhode Island and Southern New England this Halloween season A-Mazing Halloween Party, Escobar’s Farm, 255 Middle Rd, Portsmouth. Come in costume and try to find your way through the huge corn maze. Oct 26 11am – 4pm escobarshighlandfarm.com Boo at the Zoo, Buttonwood Park Zoo, […]
Read both sides of the story: Before we dive into the facts, what exactly does right to work mean? It simply means if you work for a unionized employer, then you have the right to choose whether or not you want to join the union. Currently, if you work for a unionized employer you must pay union dues… Right […]
Veterans aren’t being granted proper disability care The recent turmoil and bitter division left by the federal shutdown reverberated throughout the nation. We find battle lines drawn by anger-shaking hands on both sides over almost every domestic issue. Social media is almost unbearable in the midst of such crisis. Wannabe expert pundits squabble over […]
Will RI’s shift to a Right to Work state boost our economy? The right to choose or not having the right to choose; that is the question. With Michigan, the poster state for union power strong hold, becoming the nation’s 24th Right to Work (RTW) state, a number of people are wondering if Rhode Island becoming a RTW […]
