On Monday, June 25, the 31st annual International Summer Organ Festival kicked off at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. Opening night featured "sizzling" new civic organist Raul Prieto Ramirez who took over for longtime organist Carol Williams.
Each week since, the Organ Pavilion has showcased new concerts with new organists including Walt Strony, Alessandro Pittorino, Adam J. Brakel and more. For the grand finale on Monday, Sept. 3, Ramirez will return with a tribute to classic rock legends Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
Like all of the organ concerts, the Rocking Balboa: A Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin Tribute will start at 7:30 p.m. -- plus, it's free, open to the public and all ages.
According to Spreckels Organ Society Vice President Dang Nguyen, "The idea started a couple of years ago with concerts like Drive Like Jehu. Our previous organist, Carol Williams, appealed to a wider audience, and Raul [Prieto Ramirez] wanted to carry on that tradition and appeal of the organ -- to show what the organ can do."
Oh, and: "He has a band with him ... [SoundDiego veterans] Daniel Crawford and Ariel Levine on guitar."
It sounds like something David Gilmour and Jimmy Page would approve of, so really, there's no excuse not to check it out. While the finale is still a month and a half away, you can tide yourself over with the rest of the weekly organ concerts.
Rutger Ansley Rosenborg has been an Associate Editor at NBC SoundDiego since 2016. Find out more here, or contact him here.
