MOTIF’S 2026 RI SPOKEN AWARDS

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...

Music Awards 2026 Photos

By Lillian MK Photography By Olivia Lunger By Izzy Cooke ...

Motif's 2026 RI Music Awards Winners

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...

Ferns & Fiddleheads: The unfolding of Isa and Tess

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...

Civil War Re-Enactors Commemorate, Well…: We’re not exactly sure what

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...

Historic origins of A. Fool's Day

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...

THE NEW RI BREWERY PASSPORT: What you want to know

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 Rallies Mar 28: Find one near you

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...

Time to Boogie: Chalumeau Rocks The Parlour

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....

“Fin”: CWTheaters in Lincoln Closed After 20 Years

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...

BTS with DMK: A conversation with Josh Kirk of HIP CAT

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...

"baby" on the way

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,...

Stop, Rock and Roll: April 2026

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...

Roots Report

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...

Map: Local Dispensaries

Graphic by Olivia Lunger. ...

The High Hiker's Guide to RI

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 OR RECREATIONAL?

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....

ON THE COVER: Elliott Italiano

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...

News Analysis — What, Me Warry?: Iran is a long-lasting asymmetric fight with those who desire death

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...

ON THE COVER: Mina Miki

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....

ecoRI News Roundup

McKee’s Budget Includes Rollbacks for State’s Renewable Energy Programs PROVIDENCE — Five years after lawmakers passed the state’s first firm climate mandates, the historic Act on Climate law is in danger of getting rolled back by...

Bridge Over Troubled Maintenance: The sudden closure of the Washington Bridge has caused immense damage for local businesses. However, a few have managed to profit.

The closure of the westbound section of the Washington Bridge that occurred in December of 2023 has inspired major grievances within the greater Providence metropolitan area. Traffic within the city limits has become unbearable, especially...

American Horror Story

Graphic by Eric Barao When the US Congress allowed the Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire on Dec. 31, 2025, they created a health insurance crisis that could have inspired a plot line for “American Horror...

Melt ICE: Ways to Join the Fight Against ICE

On January 30, 2026, an estimated 5,000 Rhode Islanders – including students and numerous local businesses – participated in a historic, nationwide strike in an effort to get the tyranny of Immigration and Customs Enforcement...

Roots Report

Okee dokee folks… “Art is fucking political. Always has been, always will be.” I looked for a source to attribute this to but there doesn’t seem to be a definitive person who said it. Doesn’t...

Lighting Isakov: Illuminating the music of Gregory Alan Isakov and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra

Gregory Alan Isakov and band, with support from the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra at PPAC on Thursday, January 29, 2026. Photo by Gregory Alan Isakov’s tour photographer, Kenzi Everitt, @kenzieveritt. As the house lights dimmed on...

BTS with DMK: The Kinnane Brothers

From left to right: Brendan, Charles, Peter, Wil, John, Daniel, Patrick Kinnane, and Jeffrey Azize. I am a hopeful romantic and a huge fan of romcoms. The films often have a woman in the lead navigating...

The Future of Flowers: A Garden of Paradise, Printed

I’ve never known much about growing flowers. The few gardens I’ve started in my life ended all too unceremoniously, in death. And I’ve never known much about 3-D printing, either. In fact, probably attributed to...

Blizzard Shatters All-Time Snowfall Record with 37.9 Inches at TF Green Airport: Surpasses Blizzard of 1978

Snow accumulation at TF Green Airport reached 37.9 inches, shattering the all-time record of 28.6 inches set during the legendary Blizzard of 1978. 07:01 pm EST - 2/23/2026TF Green AP, RI37.903:10 pm EST - 2/23/20261 SE...

THE ROOMMATE

Photo: Jackie Davis as Robyn and Kortney Adams as Sharon, by Mark Turek. Not since Oscar and Felix – or Laverne and Shirley – have we cackled so hard at the antics of mismatched roommates bumbling...

Stuff to Do

Love on the Water: a new niche near India Point

Semi-camouflaged along the banks of the Providence River, yet nestled neatly at a main hub of Wickenden Street is a newcomer to the PVD literary scene. The Creative Capital has had a longstanding love affair with indie bookstores. Many of us still remember when Cellar Stories downtown was the go-to for used selections galore. College […]

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Aura’s Chocolate Bar: Sometimes, It is Love at Second Sight 

Aura never planned to fall in love with chocolate. Chocolate may not have been her first choice, but it became the obvious one for her pastry adventures. When she enrolled at Johnson & Wales University, her heart and mind were set on cake decorating — the craft of turning simple ingredients into something celebratory. Chocolate […]

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Beer Booty Calls: Single, Situationships, or True Love

 Does true love exist or is this something found only on the Hallmark Channel? If you aren’t familiar with this network, it usually involves a baker, country music singer, hockey player, or a prince who finds true love and lives a life filled with passion, romance, and zero relationship issues or money problems. It’s not […]

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Down with the Boyfriends: Celibacy as a Form of Modern Feminism 

Valentine’s Day is on its way, and so is the heteronormativity that accompanies it. From the popular rom-coms we guiltily indulge in to the traditionalist ideals that have a grip on many, it seems society strives to make women feel their only purpose in life is to find and marry a man. However, recently, there […]

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Who said romance was dead?: Here’s some ways you can treat yourself for Valentine’s Day.

It’s that time of year again, where love is in the air and the stores are filled with as much chocolate as the eye can see. Typically it’s considered a holiday where you spend time with another, gifting your loved ones chocolate and other treats. Many spend it with a romantic partner, while some who […]

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Special Date Spots

Rhode Island is a unique little state with adventures around every corner. Looking for a new place to try with that special someone? Check these unique places out: Pump House Music Works –– An intimate, cozy music venue inside a historic pump house. A guitar-maker community makes this artsy acoustic venue sound like a living-room […]

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Love Songs from the Ocean State: 7 RI Artists Laying All Their Cards on the Table

If you’re as chronically online as I am, you might have caught wind of the way people from in and out of state romanticize a Rhode Island summer and share the nostalgia of having fallen in love here. Perhaps there’s something about the salty air breezing in from the bay on quiet beaches or the […]

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