Matthew Gwinup

“We had an amazing experience working with Matt for our wedding. He was professional and organized throughout the planning process, which was particularly helpful as we planned a destination wedding. His musical talents blew us and our guests away and he really helped us accomplish our goal of making our event a personal reflection of us. He went above and beyond to help us choose songs and the ones he learned at our request were just as good as ones he's been playing for years!”  

"Our organization has worked with Matt numerous times both as a solo artist and with a band.  In addition to being communicative and organized, Matt is an amazing musician and wonderful with the audience.  Always a hit!"

"Matt is a gifted and professional performer. Our wedding wouldnt have been the same without his talent. We received so many compliments on our guitarist, and our music selection- which was his! He also learned a song just for me, he couldnt have done a better job. Thank you so much Matt!"

"Working with Matt on Always... Patsy Cline was a joy! He is a wonderful musician and his professionalism speaks for itself! I look forward to working with him again in the near future."

"Matt Gwinup, is the one you want, to entertain you or your guests here in Central Oregon. He is not only a very talented guitarist and overall musician, but as a native of Central Oregon, he is very aware of what our community and our part of Oregon wants to experience as we look for entertainment.  His ability to read the crowd, whatever the age, and provide the exact music they want to hear and can relate to is exceptional. We recently asked him to play for us (once again) but we can remember that he also played for us when we  opened our gallery many years ago. He is timeless in his talent and in his selection of music. He is very obviously part of his music. This will not be the last time we ask him to entertain our guests. A true artist".  R.Dunlavy, Red Chair Gallery"

“Toothpick Shaker was an excellent addition to our Bend wedding. Their broad array of songs to choose from meant they played something for everyone. The songs we asked them to learn sounded great and really helped us put a personal stamp on the evening. They were really easy to work with, very professional, and all around great guys!”

"We love to support local artists and Matthew is truly talented.  We were thrilled to have Matthew Gwinup do the music for our wedding.  Not only did he play gorgeous live music for several hours, he took care of the sound for the entire evening.  Organizing a wedding party is nuts; it is a true gift to hand over an entire job to one capable person.  He facilitated the sound and played in the ceremony, he set the ambiance for the reception with live music, and he MC'd the dance toasts & dance party with his great sound system.  We did not have to worry about anything and he did an amazing job! We highly recommend his services for any type of party, if he can do weddings, he can do anything.  To top it off he is also a kind, funny and personable human being."

"I just want to take a few moments to thank you for your wonderful and well received performance at our grand opening event for Furnish Hope and Home!  I confidently speak on behalf of our entire staff, team and I daresay everyone in attendance, for both of your performances!  You are an amazing guitarist, you played so effortlessly and beautifully and we were truly blessed to hear you perform.  It was perfect for our event!  Thank you for hanging in there with all of our date changes, rearranging your schedule to accommodate us and for working with our team during this special event! We will surely recommend and hire you again!  You are always welcome in our shop and we hope to see you and your family there from time to time!"

We hired Matt for a couple industry events to play some live background music, and both times he impressed our guests with his guitar skills and talent. He's friendly, professional, and easy to work with. We enjoy his music and highly recommend him for corporate events.  

"I've been taking piano lessons from Matt for nearly a year. I had almost zero musical training when i started, and in a short time he has me reading music, playing songs, and understanding rhythm. He has always been kind and professional when in the studio and makes everyone feel welcome. Matt has such a passion for music and he pours that into his teaching- letting students help pick the pieces they want to learn while making sure to hit the fundamentals along the way. Additionally, he keeps notes on your lessons each week which is a great way to see the progress you've made.Piano lessons weren't available to me as a child, but I can honestly say that as an adult student they are the highlight of my week."

"We really enjoyed having Matt play at our wedding. He was happy to learn the songs we had chosen for our ceremony and they sounded great. Our guests enjoyed the music as much as we did and he was very professional and easy to work with. We highly recommend him!"

"We hired Matt Gwinup to play at our wedding and we were very pleased with our choice! He is friendly, professional, and easy to work with. Matt showed up early to make sure that everything was in place for the wedding, and he came well prepared with lots of musical selections. We both agree that his music was a beautiful component of our wedding. Many of our guests gave us unsolicited positive comments about the ceremony music, and we would highly recommend Matt for other weddings."

I bought a guitar as a Christmas present for my 15-year-old son and started lessons with Matt a few weeks after his big present… That was only 8 months ago that the lessons have started and I cannot tell you how much we appreciate Matt as not only a guitar instructor but as a person. Matt is completely dedicated to his work. He has incredible work ethic but also what I appreciate is that he is personable and cares about his students. Every time that my son’s guitar lessons end, he comes out with a smile and is excited to share what he learned but also all the fun conversations that he has with him. He loves hearing stories about concerts that Matt has performed in and just about all his experience in general. Matt’s guitar knowledge is endless and he has a ton of experience to work with any level coming in to the lesson. My son had a very minimal level entry in to his program and is now playing WELL above what I would have ever expected at this point and has been invited by Matt to participate in jam sessions with other students which is giving him experience in playing in a band as well as learning how to play the drums! I cannot recommend Matt enough as a perfect resource for developing your guitar skills further!

 “I hired Matthew for a memorial and I am so glad I did! Not only is Matthew incredibly talented, he is lovely to work with. Responsive and kind, he made the whole process really easy. If you're looking for a musician to make your event unforgettable, you've found him in Matthew!”