Community outreach nonprofit S.O.U.L. Power Productions is teaming up with Gullah Geechee land preservation group The Quaponda Tribe to present a benefit concert at the TreeTea House on Mosquito Beach April 24 featuring funk rock ensemble, The Psycodelics, and local soul legend, Bill Wilson.
Proceeds from the concert will go toward preserving and rebuilding the TreeTea House at the end of the Mosquito Beach Road roundabout, a blue building known in the 1950s as the Piccolo Joint, or “P&J’s.” The Quaponda Tribe has recently reopened TreeTea House as a multi-purpose event space.
Mosquito Beach is part of a historically Black community that was a safe haven for social function during Jim Crow era segregation, and today it remains a vibrant hub of activity with open-air markets and events.
“Being right there on the water, there’s a certain aura about that place,” saxophonist/vocalist Bill Wilson told City Paper. “It just brings back memories of the old days growing up and seeing a bunch of people out there having a ball. The people out there are very hospitable, humble people and lovers of the land.”
Bill Wilson’s band consists of bassist Aaron Utterback and drummer Matt Zutell of local indie rock group Human Resources, keyboardist Brian Compton and guitarist Jason Kaufmann. The band will perform alongside Charleston’s encompassing funk rock ensemble, The Psycodelics, for the 2 p.m. benefit concert April 24. Donation-based tickets are available through Eventbrite.
“It’s really cool to see the connection in generations and the work still being done,” said S.O.U.L. Power Productions nonprofit founder Cody Dixon. “There is a lot still there on Mosquito Beach.”
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