Bar Pink Is Alive With the Sound of Music

The Von Trapps are alive and well -- and they're coming to San Diego

Bar Pink is alive with the sound of music!

It may be a slight variation on that iconic theme, but it’s exactly what you’ll be singing when the Von Trapps perform at the North Park bar on Jan. 31. Yes, you read that right. The Von Trapps. At Bar Pink.

You may have heard of a certain vocally blessed family that fled Austria during World War II and inspired the 1965 classic musical "The Sound of Music," but what you may not know is that the Von Trapps are still alive and well -- and they're still putting those gorgeous pipes to good use.

Composed of four great-grandchildren of the famous Captain and Maria von Trapp (who had their story gloriously put to music by Rodgers and Hammerstein all those years ago), the group has been performing on stages for the last 12 years, and, as we suspected, they're pretty darn good.

When their grandfather Werner (portrayed as Kurt "the incorrigible" in the film but who they affectionately knew as "Opa") suffered a stroke in 2002, the four siblings -- Sofi, Melanie, Amanda and August -- banded together to record some songs to help cheer him up.

One thing led to another and true to the film's line, "The Von Trapp children don't play. They march," they've marched around the world over the years, performing on stages in Japan, the UK, New Zealand, China and the Philippines. The family band eventually found themselves recording (and performing) with Pink Martini, the Chieftains, Wayne Newton and Rufus Wainwright -- and made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2012. Not too shabby for a group whose oldest member is only 25 years old.

Truth be told, the Von Trapps authentically carry on the family's legacy with tunes that embody the theatrical essence of their rich, classically trained vocals. In other words, they certainly don't shy away from "The Sound of Music" songs or Austrian folk numbers.

In addition to their Jan. 31 performance at Bar Pink, they'll also join Dr. Carol Williams at the historic Spreckels Organ Pavilion on Feb. 1 for a free concert at Balboa Park. While just a slight departure from the last big show we saw there (ahem, Drive Like Jehu), the performance promises to be a sonic delight for fans of the Von Trapps, the film and Spreckels organ aficionados alike.

Dustin Lothspeich plays in Old Tiger, Diamond Lakes and Boy King. Follow his updates on Twitter or contact him directly.

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