Rob’s Album Of The Week: Christopher Paul Stelling’s Labor Against Waste
Ever since the revival of folk-based acts in the early part of the 2010s, there’s been a dividing line between the innovators and the imitators. Some musicians in the genre […]
A Time Capsule from the 90s in 2026: ‘92 Winona and their Punk Inspiration
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...
John Faraone's Newest Record, The Waves: How his kid brain allowed for the art of self-expression
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....
Roots Report
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...
Impossible Tasks: On fifth album, Adynata, Vudu Sister burnishes hope in the darkness
(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...
You Don’t Have To Go Far: Providence’s Gallery Night shows the art was here all along
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...
MAKING POINTS WITH THE MOTTS
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...
First things first: Rhode Island's 250th anniversary on May 4 celebrates something important, we just aren't sure what.
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...
Pothole Construction Season a Sign of Spring: RI DOT seeks public help finding where to repair
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...
ON THE COVER: Mish
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...
The Impossibility of Satire: Trump-world is an inherent self-parody
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,...
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...
2026 RI Tattoo Awards
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,...
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,...
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....
Motif Interviews Benjamin Booker
With an incredible mix of punk, Motown-era soul and down-and-dirty delta blues, Benjamin Booker has been blazing a trail of rock ‘n’ roll ever since the release of his self-titled […]
Interview with Justin Sane from Anti-Flag
A band that has been punk in its truest form since the early ’90s, Pittsburgh act Anti-Flag always has something to say with a fistful of rage when it comes […]
Taste of The Bay Benefit Draws a Crowd
Save The Bay’s fourth annual Taste of The Bay drew more than 300 supporters to the organization’s bayside location to sample the local flavors of Narragansett Bay on Thurs, Jun […]
Opinion: What the Hell Is Wrong with Rhode Island?
The RI economy is so bad that my friends from other states, many of them expatriates themselves, keep trying to talk me into leaving it. Come to New York, or […]
Shiny Happy Boots
Tony award winning Kinky Boots is at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) thru June 14, and it’s a fast, funny and heartwarming show about the importance of being yourself. Charlie […]
Summer Hip-Hop Watch List for 2015
If your head is still nodding from the great spread of hip-hop shows this past winter, then it’s time to spread the cardboard boxes out for all the b-boys and […]
Dare To Go Inside My Cranium?
With a name like that, you’d expect this traveling shop to be something out of the Mutter Museum. No, you won’t find flesh in jars of formaldehyde, rather something bred of flesh […]
Smokey Joe’s Is Intensely Satisfying
Jukebox musicals are the theatrical equivalent of the mix tape. Sometimes, it’s just a collection of songs tossed in randomly for pure enjoyment and sometimes the songs are intended to […]