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BY: COLE TRAHAN

The Oaks co-owner Jeremy Weldon and his wife, co-owner Heather “Jersey” Quiros, will be hosting an outdoor Muscadine Bloodline concert on Friday, Aug. 20 at The Oaks. A part of the proceeds will benefit the Tri-County Children’s Advocacy Center through the Hope & Heel organization. This is a rain or shine event, and there will be no refunds. Gates will open at 5 p.m. CST.

Weldon said there will be food trucks and that dry camping will be an option. Dry campers need to show up before 2:30 p.m.

“[Dry camping] means they can’t hook up to electrical and sewage and water,” Weldon said. “They’re just going to leave the camper hooked to their vehicles so they can sleep in it that night instead of drinking and driving.”

Weldon said he and his wife knew Selina Rice, founder and executive director of Hope & Heel, and liked her cause. He gave credit to Chase Bass, owner of 423 Productions, for booking and promoting the event.

“Hope & Heel is basically the overall charity organization that asked me to promote and handle this event,” Bass explained. “There will be a percentage of the profits that will go to Tri-County Children’s Advocacy Center, and then the remaining amount of profits will go to Hope & Heel, which is another nonprofit.”

According to their website, Hope & Heel aims to have trained facility dogs aid children as they overcome traumatic events.

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am to [The Oaks] for allowing that concert to happen here,” said Jacqueline Burgess, executive director of Tri-County Children’s Advocacy Center. “I think it’s an amazing thing, and we’re very grateful to have this happen. Any time we can get some fundraising opportunities, we are blessed and thankful because we definitely need it.”

Burgess said her organization works with child abuse cases.

“So any time there’s a report made to DHR or law enforcement that involves a child, whether it’s physical abuse, sexual abuse, witness to violent crime — any time a child is involved in anything like that, they’re going to call us,” she said. “And they bring the child to us, and we are the ones to talk to the child.”

Burgess said her organization does forensic interviews, which are recorded so children don’t have to be asked the same questions repeatedly.

“DHR and law enforcement watch us do it,” she said. “We have like a livestream where it streams into another room. So they’re watching us do it, and then we make a copy of that for the law enforcement officer to keep as a part of his investigation. And then we move forward from there. If the child does make a disclosure that they’ve witnessed a crime or been abused or sexually assaulted or anything like that, then we can set up different services.”

Burgess said her organization supplies a nurse to examine children for sexual abuse and has a staff of trauma counselors to provide free trauma counseling to children. It also provides a family advocate to keep families up-to-date on legal cases. Muscadine Bloodline is a country music duo that was started in early 2016 by Mobile natives Gary Stanton and Charlie Muncaster, according to their website.

“Charlie’s contemporary vocals complimented by Gary’s harmonies and masterful guitar licks make MB a powerfully refreshing mix of talent, passion and unfiltered authenticity,” the website says. “Infamously undaunted by the big stage, their sound intertwines the brash irreverence of early southern rockers with the seductive quality of 90s country love songs.”