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Bon Jovi guitarist honours memory of young Mississauga woman, plays her guitar at concert

Bon Jovi guitarist Phil Xenidis, Kara Shred of Mississauga, Ont. To honour the young woman, Xenidis played Shred's unique guitar during a Toronto concert. The Journey of Kara's Guitar Facebook page photo

A group of concert goers were moved to tears by a rock star's generous gesture on Saturday night.

Bon Jovi guitarist Phil Xenidis, known as Phil X, was playing a young Ontario woman's guitar to honour her memory and love of music.

In September, 25-year-old Kara Shred of Mississauga, Ont., died suddenly in her sleep, likely of a previously undetected congenital heart problem.

She left behind her love for music — and a custom semi-hollow electric guitar with three star-shaped ports.

Her family gifted her beloved guitar to The Guitar World in Mississauga, asking friend and store owner Jim Toris to let visitors play the instrument whenever they request it.

"It is such a beautiful, unique kind of custom piece that has so much of Kara in it, we want it to be played by lots and lots of people," Kara's mother, Kristi Vilmansen-Shred, told the Toronto Star.

Toris started documenting The Journey of Kara's Guitar on Facebook, posting photos of everyone who stopped to play her instrument.

When Toris' friend and Mississauga native Phil Xenidis heard about Kara and her guitar, he took immediate action:

"I just texted my buddy Jim on the spot to say 'I'd love to play Kara's guitar when we play [at] the Air Canada Centre with Bon Jovi,'" he told the Toronto Star.

Xenidis kept the gesture a quiet one, not even telling his bandmates about the special guitar. He offered Kara's family free tickets to the show, but they already had them.

"I didn't tell anybody. For me it was more of a personal touch, something I wanted to do for the family," he said.

He chose to play Kara's guitar during the band's rock hit "Wanted: Dead or Alive."

"That Phil would do this for someone he didn't know, had never met and to play an unknown guitar in front of tens of thousands," Kara's father, Larry Shred, said. "It was just an absolutely phenomenal gift."

After the show, Xenidis met Kara's grateful family backstage.

Kara's guitar is now back at The Guitar World for anyone to play.