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Tri-Valley residents will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance next month to be able to see and hear an acoustic guitar made from a 500-year-old piece of wood that originally came from the roof of the Munich Cathedral in Germany.
Dubbed the “Resurrection Guitar” by Pleasanton’s very own luthier George Bowen, the guitar will be featured in an intimate, free concert on April 6 at the Valley Community Church.
Doyle Dykes, renowned fingerstyle guitarist who has played with legends like Chet Atkins, Eric Johnson and Tommy Emmanuel, will be performing his set with Bowen’s guitar, which he said he built just for Dykes because of how much church music history has been stored inside the piece of wood.
“Every day that wood supported the roof of the cathedral and absorbed the sounds of the daily choir … it would change the properties of the wood, change with its exposure its acoustic environment,” Bowen told the Weekly.
Bowen is what is known as a guitar luthier — a professional instrument maker who handcrafts each guitar, rather than mass produce them like other big brand labels.
The longtime Pleasanton resident began crafting his signature Bowen guitars inside his makeshift woodshop for almost 10 years now after retiring from the insurance industry. Before that, he played guitar as a professional touring and studio musician but eventually left his rockstar lifestyle for his family when they decided to move to Pleasanton.
Since becoming a luthier, Bowen has made guitars for dozens of musicians who have each played with other big names in the music industry and has even worked — and studied — with world famous luthier James Olson who has also made guitars for famous musicians like David Crosby, Lou Reed and Paul McCartney.
However, when Bowen was diagnosed in 2022 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, he began thinking about what that meant for the future of Bowen Guitars.
“There are things we do that no one else does … and it would be a sad thing to let that die with me,” Bowen said.
But now, he doesn’t have to worry about his professional legacy because his son, Andrew Bowen, is stepping up to take over the business and will continue to build Bowen guitars with all of the care, passion and attention to the fine details that his father has put into his past work.
Both of them actually worked on the “Resurrection Guitar” together so that Andrew could learn more from his father — Olson also helped with the build so that he could help teach Andrew.
The main piece of wood that the two used to make the guitar came from the roof of the Frauenkirche, which is also known as the Munich Cathedral. George said that the wood was used during its construction around 550 years ago but when the allies bombed the cathedral during World War II, that wood was collected by a violin maker who kept the wood. George said he then tracked it down and purchased the last piece of the wood so that he can make this new guitar with his son.
Andrew is a former Marine who had always grown up surrounded by music and instruments.
“I remember getting my first guitars and learning to play at a young age and listening to my dad’s records,” Andrew said. “It’s always been a part of my life.”
So when his dad began building guitars, Andrew said he was able to watch George learn and perfect the process from the ground up.
“What was cool about his process was approaching guitars with the goal of trying to make the perfect guitar, so the research that he did in what makes a guitar so good, what makes the guitar that people want to listen to, what makes the guitar that people want to play — I got to witness that alongside him,” Andrew said.
He even still has one of the very first Bowen guitars that his dad made for him.
And now, Andrew said that he is grateful that he gets to share his dad’s passion and business for making not just unique guitars, but guitars that will hopefully help touch both the player and the audience in a positive way.
“My dad’s been able to show me building guitars to put in people’s hands that go out into the world not only brings joy to the player,” Andrew said. “Music crosses boundaries and touches people in so many ways and to have a direct role in allowing that to happen for people is an amazing thing. I’ve been able to watch my dad accomplish that many times in creating something that brings joy to the player and to the listener.”
Bringing that joy for both the player and the listener is exactly what they hope to accomplish with their most recent guitar, which Dykes said as a Christian guitar player he couldn’t turn down the invitation to play and receive such a piece of musical history — especially after learning about George’s story.
“There’s some things that come along in life unexpected,” Dykes told the Weekly. “You join up with it and you think ‘Oh, I have to say yes. I have to say yes to this.’ I mean, that’s one of the most incredible stories I’ve ever heard.”
Dykes grew up Christian and developed his sound and legacy as a touring musician over years of putting himself out there — both in-person and most recently on his YouTube channel. Because of that he was able to meet and befriend other legends in the game, including Olson who introduced him to George Bowen and told Dykes about George’s story and his current condition.
So when Dykes learned that George wanted to give his newest guitar to him, he was almost left speechless.
“It’s just a humbling thing,” Dykes said. “It’s almost indescribable but when I hear him talk … you can tell it’s coming from his heart. He really wants this guitar to be used for the lord.”
But the guitar also means something deeper for George. He said in a way, because it is named the “Resurrection Guitar” it also stands for how Bowen Guitars is being resurrected by his son Andrew and seeing his son’s desire to keep the high quality level while also bringing in new life with the fact that Andrew now wants to make electric guitars as well makes him one proud luthier and an even prouder father.
“Knowing that our purpose of bringing joy through artistry, we’ll continue to make the world a better place even in our tiny way,” George said. “It’s just a tremendous gift. I feel so fortunate and blessed that Andrew shares that love and wants to continue.”
The free concert where Dykes will debut the “Resurrection Guitar” will take place at the Valley Community Church located at 4455 Del Valle Pkwy. from 7-8:45 p.m. April 6. Visit the Bowen Guitars website to RSVP free seats.
