Brent Rowan came to the Yampa Valley in summer 1992. Since then, his love affair with the valley has continued.

Now the renowned guitarist and record producer is a full-time resident, and he will treat his fellow residents to a performance of “Brent Rowan & Friends: Acoustic Christmas” this Sunday at Strings Music Pavillion.

His annual summer show, “Brent Rowan & Friends,” has been a favorite in Steamboat for the past two decades, but he hasn’t done an acoustic Christmas show in a number of years.

“I’m excited to resurrect it and hopefully make it an annual event like the summer show,” said Rowan. “The first Acoustic Christmas concert I did was celebrating the Christmas recording that my good friend, Regi Stone, and I did. Sharing music with people is such a humbling gift, and I don’t take that lightly. It’s always an honor for folks to take time to come see you play.”

This weekend, Rowan’s friends are Linda Davis and her husband, Lang Scott. The duo share five Grammy Awards, and Davis, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, is best known for her mega-hit duet “Does He Love You” with Reba McEntire.

“I was fortunate enough to play on some of Linda’s recordings years ago, and we have shared the stage several times over the years,” said Rowan. “As opposed to a concert situation that a lot of times seems like there’s a buffer between the artists and audience, it’s my great desire to create almost a living room atmosphere to where the audience feels like they are such a part of the event that they are almost eavesdropping on musical guests who love each other and love what they do.”

Music has been a part of Rowan’s life for as long as he can remember.

At 10 years old, he received an acoustic guitar for Christmas. He played trumpet through school and dabbled with piano.

“Learning to play in church, I was always more interested in connecting with people’s emotions rather than the science part of their brain,” he said. “Making listeners feel something deep was and is more of a priority to me than trying to impress with technical ability.”

As his family moved around a lot, music was his constant companion.

“Expressing one’s self through music can speak volumes when you’re maturing as a young man, especially when you’re having to change friends, schools and houses,” he said. “I guess you could say it gave me a voice when, at times, I had none, or at least there was no one to listen.”

Rowan went on to make his mark in Nashville as a studio guitarist and record producer. He has been nominated nine times for Country Music Association awards and has participated in over 15,000 recording sessions and has played on dozens of movie soundtracks.

He has recorded with the likes of Chris LeDoux, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Olivia Newton-John, Sting and Neil Diamond, among many others.

Though he has had the opportunity to work with some of the industry’s biggest names, Rowan has remained humble.

“I’ve come to believe there are two types of folks in the world,” he said. “Those who walk into a room and say, ‘Here I am,’ and those who walk in and say, ‘There you are.’ I intend to always be in the latter group, because that group thinks of others first, which, to me, is the greatest attribute. I truly hope folks can come experience Acoustic Christmas and walk away with special memories they will feel and never forget.”