{"id":838070,"date":"2026-07-31T11:57:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T11:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/838070\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T11:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T11:57:11","slug":"a-concert-to-remember-metal-band-rocks-out-at-ottawa-hospital-granting-patients-wish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/838070\/","title":{"rendered":"A concert to remember: Metal band rocks out at Ottawa hospital, granting patient’s wish"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hospitals aren’t the usual venue for a high-energy hard rock concert, but that’s exactly what took place at Ottawa’s Bruy\u00e8re Health last week, helping one longtime patient live out his dream of attending a heavy metal show.<\/p>\n

With a colourful light show, hair-blowing fans and aggressive headbanging, a board room at the hospital was transformed into a rock club last Tuesday after 27-year-old Tim Berry expressed his wish to rock out there.<\/p>\n

Roshene Lawson, a clinical chaplain at Bruy\u00e8re Health, said she was visiting Berry after he’d received some bad health news and was dwelling on the things he’d missed out on.<\/p>\n

“I said, ‘Well, we can talk about all the stuff you’ve lost, or we can talk about how you want to live for however much longer you’re around,” Lawson said.<\/p>\n

\"AThe Scepter performs for patients at Bruy\u00e8re Health on July 21. (Bruy\u00e8re Health)<\/p>\n

What Berry wanted was to attend a heavy metal show. Lawson called Scott McClinton, owner of hard rock venue the Dominion Tavern in the ByWard Market, who in turn recruited local band The Scepter.<\/p>\n

“It was a quick yes, and then he reached out to The Scepter, and they gave a quick yes,” Lawson told CBC\u2019s All In A Day.\u00a0“All of a sudden, people in heavy metal outfits with guitars and stuff are asking where the chaplain is.”<\/p>\n

Berry’s condition was deemed too fragile to leave the hospital, so the crew decided to bring the show to him. With Berry\u2019s approval, it turned into a full-blown event for patients at Bruy\u00e8re Health on July 21, coming together within a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AHeavy metal band The Scepter quickly accepted the invitation to put on a show at Bruy\u00e8re Health. (Bruy\u00e8re Health)<\/p>\n

“He had tears and I joked with him, I said, ‘Are the tears because it’s so bloody loud?'” Lawson said. “And he laughed and he said, \u2018No, I’m happy'” <\/p>\n

Lawson said even the “tough heavy metal guys” had tears in their eyes, too.<\/p>\n

“It was absolutely emotional,” McClinton recalled. “I never thought I’d cry during a metal show, but that definitely happened.”<\/p>\n

11:36A heavy metal concert in a hospital?<\/p>\n

When a patient shared with staff at Bruy\u00e8re Health that it was his dream to see a heavy metal concert, they made it happen. Dominion Tavern and local metal band The Scepter came through to deliver an electric performance for patients at Bruy\u00e8re.<\/p>\n

The Scepter pulled out all the stops, making the most of the unconventional venue by using the space between each patient as a catwalk to show off their guitar-shredding skills.<\/p>\n

“We had enough space with all the lights and stuff to still move around and go up to the patients and give them a little taste of our heavy metal might,” said guitarist Josh Collins.<\/p>\n

After the show, Berry met with the band and got some merch including a T-shirt and CD.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ChaplainChaplain Roshene Lawson says it is important to think outside the box when it comes to patient care. (Francis Ferland\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Lawson said it was much more than a fun musical experience: It was about providing the best quality of life for a patient she helps navigate the ups and downs of hospital life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I listened to what it was that would bring him meaning and value. It’s not my role to judge that,” she said. “It’s my role to support and listen.”<\/p>\n

She said while a strong focus on medical care is crucial, the clinical team at Bruy\u00e8re Health also prioritizes spiritual wellness. <\/p>\n

“Sometimes we’ve got to think outside the box, and in this case I went to a heavy metal concert.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":838071,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,75],"class_list":["post-838070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/838071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}