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....
I’ve been around the world and experienced a lot of clubs and types of nightlife, and I must say we have an amazing nightlife and beautiful people in our own little state. With more than a decade of experience in EDM mayhem, RI holds one of the most legendary EDM clubs in New England: Club […]
Rhode Island has fast become synonymous with creative small business. You can hardly find a street corner or loft office in the Providence or Warwick area not adorned with the humble and vibrant signs of local-owned businesses selling everything from artisan food to eclectic art and handmade furniture. One such office in Pawtucket holds the […]
Recently in Travel & Leisure Magazine, Providence was named “America’s Favorite City” because of its spectacular arts and music culture and its top dining establishments. To celebrate much-deserved recognition, Ravi Shavi and The ‘Mericans will perform at The Veterans Memorial Auditorium on Dec 17 at a gala adorned with food trucks, pop-up shops and so […]
Okee dokee folks … Here we are again, zipping along to the finish of another year. I know that this is cliché, but time really does fly. And the older you get, the velocity starts to approach light speed. It seemed like it took forever to reach the age of 30. But after 30, well, […]
Mead is sort of the red-headed stepchild of the craft spirits industry. Shunned by the world of wine and not quite strong enough to contend with hard liquor, or even liqueurs (usually), mead has found a home in the welcoming arms of the craft beer industry. Mead is, simplistically speaking, honey-wine. You may have read […]
In 1936, a movie titled Tell Your Children was produced by a church group to warn parents about the dangers of marijuana use. This film was the epitome of everything that the prohibition movement, lead by Harry Anslinger, claimed cannabis to be. It depicted young adults as pot-crazed lunatics who turned to sex, violence, crime […]
Littlefoot – Night of The Living Dreams On their new release, Night of The Living Dreams, Littlefoot offer up a stash of classic pop. Littlefoot sound like a dreamy ’60s girl group being performed by a ’90s indie band with ’80s Brit-Pop thrown in for a garnish. I always say to watch out for those […]
Dear Nick, I cannot believe that we’ve made our way round the sun yet another time. As the weather blusters into town turning our breath steamy white, I’ve taken to thinking about the year to come. As our friend Alfred Tennyson once cooed, “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering ‘it […]
One Wednesday after a house-gathering with friends, several guys said they were going to The Grange for live music and drinks. “Wait,” I said. “The Grange? On Broadway?” “Yes.” “You’re talking the vegetarian brunch place?” “Yes.” “They’re open at night?” And thus began my epiphany: The restaurants we go to on weekend mornings for Bloody […]
Something is stirring in Chepachet this holiday season, but it is not quite what you would expect; it’s a film crew producing a horror, comedy, Christmas short titled Scary Little Fuckers. You might expect a film crew taking advantage of the holiday season and its decorations to craft a heartfelt family drama, but there […]
