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,...
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. Want to see your favorite Rhode Island...
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,...
Here are some hot new local tracks to finish melting the ice. The Hopeless Romantics – “Quiet Kind” The third and final single from The Hopeless Romantics’ upcoming debut album, “Quiet Kind” is also a reworked...
Okee dokee folks… PLEASE stop using AI. The more it knows, the more it grows. We are feeding a beast that will someday destroy us. AI is not your friend, though it may pretend to...
Graphic by Olivia Lunger. ...
Hey idiot, why are you and your friends getting high indoors? Don't you know? We have a planet, a whole, big planet filled with trees, rivers, and critters. The outside world doesn't have to start...
Medical marijuana was legalized in Rhode Island in January 2006, and by May 2022 even recreational sales became legal through state-licensed dispensaries and authorized retailers. Yet it still isn’t safe for medical users to come out of the closet....
Cover artist Elliott Italiano of Jamestown is a self-made glass artist. As a young adult, Italiano's interests centered on fashion, inspiring thoughts of pursuing a degree in luxury marketing and design. He relates to his past...
MAD Magazine cover, Feb 2016: Donald Trump and Alfred E. Neuman We fought a military war; our opponents fought a political one. We sought physical attrition; our opponents aimed for our psychological exhaustion. In the process...
Cover artist Mina Miki of Providence calls her baby blanket her longest friend. “His name is Blankie, but now he looks less like a blanket and more like a piece of tangled silk,” she says....
Fans of craft beer in Coventry will have something to celebrate this summer as the all-new Doherty’s Ale House Lakeside takes over the old Nino’s on Tiogue Ave. Once the only spot in the area to find entertainment for young locals, Nino’s was a staple of Coventry’s social life for many years, offering both good […]
Okay, okay, okay. Admit it. You read “roller derby” and your mind went, “Tough hot chicks in ripped stuff swirling around I don’t know what’s happening and they’re on skates and they will kill each other while I drink beer and watch.” Fine. I’ll admit it. Roller derby women are hot shit. They’re strong. They […]
Ben Dover Stadium The shovels are singing and the horseshit flying as the new owners of the Pawtucket Red Sox have begun their pitch to the Capital City and Little Rhody in earnest. (Well, at least to-date the state, leaving the Providence City Council not amused by being blown off by the PawSox honchos.) The […]
Okee dokee folks … I know I have said over and over (and over) again that I don’t like those singing contest shows on television. Well, I DON’T like them, but when you know someone on one of those shows, you want that person to win. Unfortunately, she didn’t. The person I am talking about […]
The two-story brick building looks like a fortress — and it’s built like one. In fact, the old Bishop McVinney School was designated by the city of Providence as a nuclear fallout shelter in the 1960s. Constructed more than 75 years ago in the shadows of the Cranston Street Armory, the building was home to […]
1. Sat, May 9: Power Of Love (Huey Lewis & The News Cover Band), Hippy Johnny (The Modern Lovers Cover Band), Pretendica (Pretenders / Elastica Cover Band); 8pm doors / 9pm show; All ages; $10 advance / $12 day of; The Met, 1005 Main St., Pawtucket. Boston’s Power of Love is bringing what Rhode Island has always needed: […]
In my last article, “Taking It All Off,” I divulged personal information about my feelings on my own body. It outraged the Rhode Island burlesque community. Feeling self-conscious and not appreciating one’s body is unacceptable to the beautiful and bold women of burlesque. Corinne Southern reached out to me after reading my tell-all and dared […]
Brown Bird – Axis Mundi (Supply and Demand Music) The loss of Brown Bird founder Dave Lamb to leukemia last year was devastating to the local music community and beyond. It wasn’t supposed to end that way. Lamb was too young, a mere 36. I interviewed Lamb days before Brown Bird was set to go […]
Providence Roller Derby has faced a challenging year both home and away. One of those challenges was on Apr 25 at Brown University’s Meehan Auditorium when PRD (#84) went up against Pikes Peak Derby Dames of Colorado (#85). PRD’s Rhode Island Riveters started strong with an early lead that led to a seesaw control of the scoreboard. […]
Think of the grandma, aunt or mother-in-law in your life to whom you still turn for their invaluable wisdom. Consider your hard-working sister, your co-worker with the newborn or the neighbor who watches the kids when you run to the market. Express your gratitude to these fabulous ladies in your life and declare your […]
