"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, a...
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 Vudus 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...
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,...
No Kings 3, Mar 28, 2026 No Kings – nokings.org – is a non-violent protest movement responding to the monarchy-like concentration of power in the hands of the president, to the exclusion of Congress and the...
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...
This summer was the best. I had the pleasure of working on two big time productions – HBO’s “Newsroom” (in small quarters with the two major stars of that show), and then shortly after, found myself standing two feet from Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix in that oft-talked-about summertime film, the Woody Allen Project. I […]
It might not quite feel like fall, but the beginning of September heralds our autumnal arrival. I love September. Whether it’s the geeky girl in me who loves those ‘back to school’ trips to Staples or the redhead who’s totally over sunburn, September has always been my favorite month. Each new page on the cook’s […]
Epic Theatre Company has gotten off to a smashing start for its 2014-2015 season with a highly entertaining production of Compleat Female Stage Beauty. The setting is 1661 when it was routine for male actors to play the female characters in Shakespeare productions. Jonathan Fisher stars as vain actor Edward Kynaston, famous for playing roles […]
Nothing sounds more terrifying or satisfying to me than starting a small business. There is a certain dedication needed to turn a passion into a business opportunity and the risk can far outweigh the rewards. Though if done right, those rewards can be plentiful. The West End Girls is a group supporting female-owned businesses from […]
[opened] Fox Point’s beloved pizza joint, Fellini Pizzeria, just opened a second location in Pawtuxet Village, Cranston. Those on the other side of the bay no longer need to venture to Prov for their French pancake fix — Crepelicious has arrived in Barrington serving up decedent crepe-themed desserts. A new cafe just opened on Federal […]
There are many realities no one mentions to parents before they have kids: sleepless nights last well past the newborn phase; the words “carefree” and “relaxing” drop from your vocabulary, and, upon birth, your sex life suffers an instantaneous demise. There’s one truth, however, that’s been the most shocking of all: SUMMER IS HELL!!! I […]
Music has such a wide variety of sound and styles it’s hard to capture everything a band or musician has to offer under one specific genre. Hardcore is no exception. With influences from metal, punk, grindcore, ska, death and thrash metal along with all the anger and politics thrown together, it creates what we can […]
If you missed Providence Roller Derby’s return to the Bank of America Skating Pavilion in Providence, you missed one of the most storytelling, down-to-the-wire games in PRD history. Already leading the home season league, the Mob Squad looked to maintain their status against the Old Money Honeys. By the first half, the Mob put a […]
Why do we eagerly throw ourselves into the festivities and foods we ought to celebrate before it’s actually time for them? For example, pumpkin beer in August, winter porters in November and spring ales in February. Okay, a cocktail writer is ragging on beer marketing here, but let’s be honest: It’s more fun to write […]
Rhode Island theater, for the uninitiated, can be a complex mess of posters, social media events and pages of listings in the local papers. Even those folks who have been going to see shows at Trinity Rep or Theatre by the Sea for 30 years are shocked to hear that, on any given weekend, you […]
