Rocking out

For more than a decade, the sounds of live rock music have echoed through the summer air at St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute—not from a nearby festival, but from the hospital’s own patio.

From 2009 to 2019, patients, residents, families, staff and volunteers gathered to enjoy Rock the Parkwood—a full outdoor (weather-permitting) concert brought right to them. And this year, thanks to the generosity of a donor, the music played once again after a five-year pause.

Music with meaning

At the heart of this unique event is Jill Kennedy, a longtime music therapist who has spent 20 years using music to bring comfort, connection and joy to patients, especially those in the Palliative Care, Complex Care and Veterans Care programs.

“For patients and residents throughout Parkwood, moments of connection like this are incredibly meaningful,” says Kennedy. “Live music gives them a way to feel energized and uplifted—to feel like themselves again—even if just for a little while.”

Since 2009, Kennedy and her colleagues have organized the concerts with help from former team members like Judy Beitz (Therapeutic Recreation Specialist) and, more recently, Bernadette Welch (TRS) from Complex Care. Some bands have performed and volunteered year after year—turning the event into a cherished tradition for everyone at Parkwood.

A gift that brought the music back

The concert went on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But team members still hoped that one day they’d be able to bring the music back. That day came in 2025. A donation made specifically to Parkwood’s Music program allowed Kennedy and Welch reignite Rock the Parkwood—this time with a new band that was ready to bring rock and roll right to the patio.

The generous donation came from Marilyn Buttery, Strathroy. Buttery knows the joy that music can bring.

“I give because it’s the right thing to do,” Buttery says. “I’ve played piano for the Order of the Eastern Star and for retirement homes too. You can change the entire mood of a room with a song.”

For many patients and residents throughout Parkwood Institute and the Finch Family Mental Health Care Building, this event served as a return to normalcy where they can rock out with their loved ones in the fresh, summer air. Kennedy and Welch don’t take that lightly.

“There are many patients and residents for whom attending a live rock concert might not be possible due to their medical needs.” Kennedy says. “It’s a wonderful thing to be able to offer people that kind of joy, that kind of positive experience. Even though they’re still in hospital, for a couple of hours they’re just a person outside on a sunny day, enjoying a great show.”

The impact of the concert extends far beyond the patients and residents themselves. It brings together care providers, volunteers and families—offering them a rare chance to step away from the clinical environment of the hospital and into a moment of pure celebration.

More than just a concert

Thanks to Buttery’s generosity, Rock the Parkwood was able to return not only as a much-loved and very missed event but as a symbol of connection, comfort and the healing power of music.

“I was so touched when I heard about the donation,” says Kennedy. “And I just want to say thank you so much for providing this generous gift so that we can see this very successful event come back. Because of their donation, the show can go on.”