John McLaren is back to doing what he loves: playing the guitar and being with his family. “I’m feeling a lot better than what I felt like last month. I was feeling pretty rough, especially the first couple of weeks,” said John. The 37-year-old guitarist was badly beaten on March 14 on Main Street in Moncton after performing at a microbrewery. He was attacked around midnight after finishing a solo performance at Happy Craft Brewery and was rushed to hospital with serious injuries. After a few weeks in hospital, John was able to return to his home in Shediac with his wife Brittany and their soon-to-be one-year-old son Dawson. He’s slowly getting his memory and his life back. “You appreciate simple things in life especially after dealing with an incident such as that,” he said. “I had a brain bleed. It was, I guess, a pretty severe brain bleed. I’m lucky to recover from all that.” Luke Powers was arrested three days later and was charged with aggravated assault. The 43-year-old is scheduled to return to court on Friday for a fitness hearing. It wasn’t a random attack as the two men knew each other. “We were former coworkers,” said John. John alleges Powers confronted him about his performance after his set was finished. “I stepped outside and the last thing I remember is waking up in the hospital. I don’t really remember much else from after I stepped outside,” said John. He was later told by Brittany and the police what had happened to him. The couple had their son about 10 months prior to the assault and he had some health issues so they couldn’t leave the hospital right away. “We pretty much just got out of the hospital with him. I wasn’t expecting to be in the hospital so soon with John. I’m just grateful that he was able to get better and we’re grateful from all the support from everybody,” said Brittany. An online fundraiser started by a friend raised $35,963 for the couple and John had many visitors and support from friends, family and fellow musicians. “It was so overwhelming and a humbling experience,” said Brittany. John is back rehearsing at home and getting ready to begin playing live again. His return to the stage will be on June 4 at, of all places, Happy Craft Brewery. John said that wasn’t planned at all, he just decided to go back playing where he usually does the first Thursday of every month. “At the time I didn’t know what was going to happen, so I’m just grateful that he’ll be able to play again and do what he loves,” said Brittany. There’s also performances at the Living Roots Music Festival in Fredericton in June and the 40th Halifax Jazz Festival in July. John also plays with John McLaren and Friends, a trio that will be releasing a live album in September. Brittany said she was supposed to be at Happy the night of the attack, but won’t miss his next performance there. “I try to bring Dawson with me everywhere we go. We try to go everywhere together,” she said. “I want it to be part of Dawson’s life. We always like to be together.” For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
