Matthew Billings

Annual reminder that no one goes to Providence anymore become all the parking spots are filled.

JUST IN: A federal judge in Washington says she's concerned that the White House is still implementing the spending freeze that she and a Rhode Island judge have ordered temporarily halted. Judge AliKhan is inclined to issue a restraining order.

Our Democratic Party has been heavily taken over by a group of conservatives who want us to cave to the Republicans on every issue. A group that despises Democratic voters for our progressive values. “The establishment” gives them too much credit. What should we call them?

It took the Smiley administration the entire school year to come up with eight obvious metrics to judge the success of the state takeover. Planning for return is crucial. But this could have been drafted in 5 minutes, 5 years ago.

It appears as though Providence is losing 3 of its mid-size original music venues. There are several reasons for this, which I will touch on in an upcoming podcast. Bottom line: indie music used to be quasi-mainstream, like college basketball or something. Today, it is closer to professional bowling. Major artists are struggling to tour across the country, leaving the industry or shifting to part time/local. The magic of Pitchfork/MySpace is ancient history. The creative space has shifted to TikTok. Covid was the final deathblow for a lot of original music. Content has replaced art. I am thankful to have found a lane or two to exist in as an original artist, but know that the pathway is nothing like it was just a few years ago when silverteeth was touring full time. Some folks will blame the audience for “not supporting live music”, but the reality is that, the sands have shifted out from under the medium and innovation and shapeshifting, and most of all, staying authentic, is the key to where music goes in the coming decade.