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....
On a blistery January day, comfort in any form is always welcome. Near the corner of Pearl and Broad Streets, cozied beside the sidewalk – recently coated by a dose of freshly fallen flakes and buzzing with hopeful beggars from Crossroads – a short sleeve serves as a most unexpected epicurean destination. With the holiday season […]
1. Sun, Jan 18: Balance and Composure, Ovlov, Wargames; $13 advance / $15 day of; 8pm doors / 8:30pm show; All ages; The Met, 1005 Main St, Pawtucket. Finally Doylestown, Penn.’s Balance and Composure return to Rhode Island. The band, while often grouped in with the new explosion of emo and pop punk acts like Title Fight and […]
Less Than a Felony – Self-Titled EP The self-titled EP from Less Than a Felony kicks off with a one–two punk combination of “Elvis Moves” and “Nothing Without You.” The latter is more bop till you drop reckless abandonment while the former has an intense side punctuated by a breakdown. Less Than A Felony go […]
A year ago, we wrote about the massive changes happening in health care – Obamacare on the national level, HealthSourceRI and changes at Blue Cross Blue Shield and other RI institutions, as well as how those things were expected to change the lives of local residents, especially artists, musicians and others in professions that historically […]
Have you ever listened to 94 WHJY during the day and wondered what would be like if their staid playlist was performed by a mariachi band? Me neither. That said, Metalachi, known as the greatest heavy metal mariachi band ever to roam the earth, does sound like a hoot! Metalachi recreates classic rock staples and […]
Just over the Massachusetts state border in Fall River, 20 or so highly skilled and dedicated classical singers gather weekly to rehearse the complex and beautiful vocal music of various composers. This group calls itself “Sine Nomine,” which translates to “Without a Name.” Founded in 1993 by early music specialist Glenn Giuttari, Sine Nomine has […]
A new bar scene is coming to Pawtucket in the Hope Artiste Village, just a stone’s throw from the Providence line, and will enable patrons to watch scenes from The Big Lebowski and Kingpin while drinking beer (or White Russians, for Dudes who abide) and playing a little duckpin bowling themselves. It’s easily the most […]
Local one-man band Able Thought brings a dose of tranquility to the Providence music scene with his latest album, serene In Limbo. People like Andrew Bird and Kishi Bashi have made looping an art form and removed the need for a backing band to produce a full sound. Able Thought uses a loop pedal — […]
Goth magician Dan Sperry is one of the performers in The Illusionists, a showcase for dazzling modern displays of mind-reading, levitation, disappearances and grand illusion. The show, which has been touring North America, will be at the Providence Performing Arts Center from Jan 16 through 18. “In the most basic, straightforward sense it’s a magic […]
It’s a new year and 2015 already has a bunch of exciting new releases due out, including the debut full-length from Los Angeles fuzz pop act Cotillon. The moniker of singer-songwriter Jordan Corso, the new album has a cool mix of garage rock and Beatles-style pop with hints of different dimensions on each track. Overall, Cotillon’s debut […]
