Wow! Some of Santa Cruz’s finest magic begins with wood, six strings and a pair of skilled hands.
On Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, Santa Cruz Guitar Company will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a concert at the Rio Theatre. An impressive roster of musicians will honor a business that has been turning wood, wire and patient craftsmanship into music since 1976.
I’m a professional magician. Hands are my business. So I have a particular appreciation for people who can make something extraordinary happen with theirs.
A couple of years ago, I toured the company’s facilities. I was amazed by the magic they create. Here was a place making instruments capable of moving people around the world, tucked into the Harvey West neighborhood right by Costco, though the guitar company has been around much longer.
That visit still makes me smile. There’s something wonderful about finding a workshop with an international reputation in a building you might otherwise drive past. Santa Cruz has a habit of hiding remarkable talent in perfectly ordinary places. This anniversary gives us a reason to pay a little more attention.
The surrounding landscape has a much longer memory. During the mission period, cattle grazed the Potrero lands north and west of Mission Hill, on ground we now associate with streets, businesses and parking lots. Then came industry. The nearby tannery, now the Tannery Arts Center, passed into Jacob Kron’s hands in 1866 and continued under later owners until 2001.
Into Santa Cruz’s tradition of making things came Richard Hoover, who founded the guitar company with partners Bruce Ross and William Davis. Their approach drew on violin making. Each piece of wood matters.
Today, the company still shapes each instrument’s voice by hand, adjusting the guitar’s top and internal bracing, with reclaimed and responsibly harvested wood guiding material choices. The company builds for durability and repairability, too, so an instrument can keep making music long enough to find its way into another musician’s hands.
Company information: santacruzguitar.com/about
Any performer can appreciate the connection. An audience hears the finished result, while the decisions, adjustments and practice that made it possible remain largely invisible. We know what went into it.
My tour left me amazed; thinking about the work behind those instruments makes the upcoming celebration feel especially well earned.
I also talked with a guitarist friend at School of Rock in San Jose about the event. He said he was super impressed with the roster of musicians coming.
That got my attention.
The Brothers Comatose will bring their exuberant bluegrass, alongside guitarist James Nash, the company’s artist ambassador. Asheville’s Hustle Souls adds soul and brass. Hawai‘i’s Ron Artis II brings blues and funk. Acoustic blues and slide guitarist Catfish Keith completes the featured lineup. Nick Forster, known for Hot Rize and eTown, hosts the evening.
The range should give those handmade instruments plenty of room to speak.
The festivities begin with a free block party from noon to 4:30 p.m. behind Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos, 1817 Soquel Ave. Music, food and vendors will fill the afternoon, with performers including SambaDá, SONiA, Steve Palazzo, Bill Coulter and Adam Traum. Shane Hall, Diggin Trails, Colin Cotter and Sumaia Jackson, and Ben Torres are also on the bill, with Good Times musical maven Matt Weir serving as MC.
Come for the afternoon. Stay for the music.
Block party details: santacruzguitar.com
The Rio concert starts at 5:30 p.m. at 1205 Soquel Ave. Advance tickets are $50 for general admission, $75 for preferred seating and $100 for VIP through Snazzy Productions. VIP entry begins at 4:15 p.m., preferred at 4:45 p.m. and general admission at 5 p.m.
The VIP package includes merchandise and a meet-and-greet. Tickets are also available by phone at 831-479-9421 or online at snazzyproductions.com/santacruzguitar50.
For another view of the story, the downtown Museum of Art & History’s exhibition, Santa Cruz Guitar Company: The First 50 Years, continues through Oct. 4.
Exhibition details: santacruzmah.org/exhibitions/santa-cruz-guitars-2025
Fifty years. That’s a lot of songs.
These craftspeople build instruments that let musicians create their own, night after night. This Saturday, we get to hear what that kind of magic sounds like when a roomful of people comes together to celebrate it.
