The measure of any instrument is in the hands that hold it.
Wood Spirit Guitars has been fortunate to find a family of extraordinary players who don’t just endorse these instruments – they helped shape them. Each collaboration has been a creative dialogue, a blending of the luthier’s craft with the artist’s vision.
ED “THE SHRED” CLARKE
Lead Guitar – Brave Rival
Ed Clarke is the lead guitarist for British rock quartet Brave Rival, one of the UK’s most electrifying live acts and recipients of a 9/10 from Classic Rock Magazine for their 2024 album Fight or Flight. A two-time UK Blues Award nominee, Ed’s playing combines precision, fire, and an instinctive feel for tone that demanded an instrument built to match.
The result is the Wood Spirit EC-1 – a double-cutaway body inspired by the Les Paul Jr, paired with a Fender-style neck, carved top, and three pickups. Built in close collaboration with Ed, it moves effortlessly between British crunch and fluid lead work, and is as bold and versatile as the player it was made for.
Christone Kingfish Ingram
Grammy Award Winning Blues Artist
Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi – the birthplace of the blues – Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is one of the most celebrated guitarists of his generation. A Grammy Award winner, multiple Blues Music Award recipient, and a player Rolling Stone named as one of the most exciting young guitarists in years, Kingfish carries the spirit of the Delta into every note he plays.
His collaboration with Wood Spirit Guitars is a natural fit. Kingfish plays with a ferocity, soul, and technical command that demands an instrument built without compromise – and that is exactly what Jon Beason builds. When a player of that calibre chooses a handcrafted guitar from a Seattle workshop, it says everything about what a Wood Spirit Guitar is capable of.
GRACE & AARON BOND
Vocalist, Guitar, Violin and Mandolin – When Rivers Meet
Aaron and Grace Bond are the husband-and-wife duo behind When Rivers Meet, one of the UK’s most remarkable independent success stories in blues-rock. Aaron’s rich, expressive guitar work anchors the band’s sound, while Grace’s soaring vocals and mandolin playing give When Rivers Meet their unmistakable character. Together they took their 2025 album Addicted to You to number four on the UK Official Albums Chart, entirely self-managed and self-released.
Both Aaron and Grace play Wood Spirit instruments: Aaron on guitar, Grace on mandolin – making them a unique pairing in the Wood Spirit family. Like the instruments Jon builds, When Rivers Meet do things entirely on their own terms: no shortcuts, just two players with two handcrafted instruments and something genuinely worth hearing.
MATHIAS LATTIN
Guitarist & International Blues Challenge Champion
Mathias Lattin is a Houston-based guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter who at just twenty years old won both first place at the 2023 International Blues Challenge and the Best Guitarist award – making him conceivably the youngest artist ever to claim both honours. His debut album Up Next earned a 2024 Blues Music Award nomination, and he has shared stages with Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jimmie Vaughan, and Eric Gales.
Rooted in the tradition of B.B. King and Albert Collins, but entirely his own voice, Mathias brings a rare combination of soulful feel and technical command to every performance. A Wood Spirit guitar in his hands is exactly where it belongs – being played with everything it’s got.
MATT LONG
Vocalist and Guitar – Catfish
Matt Long was the frontman and lead guitarist of Catfish, the multi-award-winning British blues rock band he led to back-to-back Blues Band of the Year titles in 2018 and 2020. His collaboration with Wood Spirit Guitars produced the ML-1 – a Jazzmaster-inspired body with a full Gibson-style tenon neck, three pickups, and a Strat-style tremolo, built together through the kind of creative conversation that only happens between a great builder and a great player.
Matt passed away in October 2024, aged just twenty-nine, after a battle with bowel cancer. The ML-1 remains – a guitar that carries his name, his vision, and something of the spirit he brought to every stage he ever stood on. We are honoured to have built it with him, and miss our friend every day.