Luke Peeples could hear things the rest of us couldn’t hear.
And now, 30 years after the beloved Bluffton eccentric passed away , he is helping us see things we need to see.
The quiet, smallish, virtuoso musician from a family of 11 boys all named for apostles saw plenty where others saw want.
He saw — and heard — the beauty of the Gullah culture that infused the South Carolina Lowcountry of the 20th century. He appreciated the character of families then not far removed from slavery.
Peeples didn’t try to co-opt the culture or make money off of it. He documented it in the best way he knew how — through musical compositions.
We need to see what he saw today, as Gullah land ownership shrinks and customs fade in a fast-food world of cookie-cutter neighborhoods.
His unusual talents will be celebrated in Bluffton at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, when the Historic Bluffton Foundation presents “ A Gullah Spirituals Concert Celebrating the Music and Life of Luke Peeples ” at the Campbell Chapel AME Church at 25 Boundary St.