Kelsey Waldon Is Latest Victim of Houston Van Burglary
Back in 2016, Saving Country Music chronicled how Houston was becoming the Stolen Gear Capital of the World for touring musicians, but ever since a massive city-wide sting that involved the help of Texas country artist Zane Williams and resulted in over 130 arrests, reports of property theft by musicians have decreased. But that wasn’t the case for Kelsey Waldon who was in town to play at the White Oak Music Hall, Thursday, November 21st with Jamie Lin Wilson.
The night before their show, Kelsey Waldon’s tour van was broken into at a La Quinta hotel, and numerous items were stolen, including a Gretsch guitar, multiple amps, peddle boards, and accessories (see full list and pictures below). The thief popped the passenger side lock of the van and stole the items without any serious damage to the van. The theft would have gone virtually unnoticed if not for the missing gear.
Luckily, Kelsey and her band’s most prized instruments were not in the van at the time, and video footage was captured of the assailant breaking into three or four other vehicles in the lot. “If you live in the area, be on the lookout for this gear on craigslist, guitar & pawn shops, etc!” Kelsey posted on Twitter and Instagram. “On a positive note, this could of been so much worse… Thanks to all the amazing people who have let us borrow gear for the remainder of this run in TX & AR!”
Luckily, it didn’t take long for the thief to out himself. Friday morning (11-22), a man named Charles Shay posted both the Fender Deluxe Reverb amp and the Bassman 800 amp head on Facebook Marketplace. Houston Police were notified. They are currently working the case and trying to find the thief and retrieve the stolen gear.
“We are lucky the van is still in driving condition. Thanks so much for the love & support over the issue,” Kelsey said on Sunday (11-24). “The show must & will go on…but please keep an eye out for our things. This has happened to far too many touring bands.”
Saving Country Music reached out to the Houston Police Department for an update on the case, but they did not have any new information available.
November 25, 2019 @ 8:52 pm
I seriously have no compassion for a thief. The ultimate violation of a person.
November 25, 2019 @ 10:55 pm
Mr. Shay is invited to Kentucky for some Backwoods Country Justice. A trip to the woodshed should do it.
November 25, 2019 @ 11:16 pm
its the shits …no question .
but ( and I hate to be ‘that guy’ ..) ..why the heck would you leave all of that valuable gear unattended ?
we have signs in our community parks , even, that remind people to NOT LEAVE ANYTHING in vehicles …..break-ins go on all the time …everywhere ( drug money ) .
again …I feel bad for the musicians , of course , but this is just something you can’t do when its not only your gear but your livelihood on the line . you can’t leave that stuff unattended . tough bloody lesson indeed . hopefully the gear is retrieved
November 26, 2019 @ 3:56 pm
albert…
That’s one of the problems when you’re on the road and staying at a hotel…what do ya do ?
Someone from the band could spend the night in the van, or you could rent an extra room and unload the van…Or…take your chances….
November 26, 2019 @ 4:06 pm
hear ya ….we did TONS of roadwork . at restaurants etc..we parked and sat where the vans were always in our sight and visible to the public . if we could carry it , it went into the rooms with us EVERY NIGHT .ESPECIALLY guitars , pedalboards etc….that’s just a no-brainer . if we couldn’t carry it , likely no one else could …or would want to .
but again …my sympathies to these players and singers . its a real kick in the face when you are struggling to make a living this way …and nearly impossible to just break even most times . its a labour of love , an investment you HOPE will pay off in bigger rewards down the road . in the meantime you’re likely still making payments on that new hummingbird or the pedalboards . heartbreaker……
November 25, 2019 @ 11:39 pm
When will people learn if gear is in the van, someone stays with the van.
November 26, 2019 @ 10:55 am
This situation does not feel like your average gear theft. They brought all the important stuff into the hotel room like you should, may not have had space for the backline gear and peddleboards, and it bit them. They won’t make that mistake a again, but it sure would be nice if we could all be secure in our possessions, and musicians weren’t specifically targeted in these kinds of instances.
November 26, 2019 @ 1:33 am
Bad motherfu***r!
Any news about Junior Brown’s guitar?
November 26, 2019 @ 10:52 am
No news yet.
November 26, 2019 @ 4:05 am
I say it every time this article gets posted!
TILE your motherfuckin’ stuff!
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tile+gps&gclid=Cj0KCQiAt_PuBRDcARIsAMNlBdo91PYLJJr3LT9Mfy9EX0VLWtPb0GaUGGPtBAKci5HoML5usyqw1YEaAn9yEALw_wcB&hvadid=174251503912&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9005939&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=2913448735998713282&hvtargid=aud-836690481282%3Akwd-48745908883&hydadcr=8778_9622288&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_z7fcrvydl_e
November 26, 2019 @ 1:23 pm
How’s the Tile going to work when your gear is more than 300 ft away? A random person, with the Tile app open, would have to be that close to it. Slim chance I believe.
November 26, 2019 @ 3:16 pm
I get gps coordinates. In the app, I selected location and a map comes up showing where my item is located. You think it works 300 ft away? I’ve definitely hit coordinates further away.
November 26, 2019 @ 5:36 pm
You are very correct, Clam. I didn’t fully understand how the tile works. I never needed it past my range or got lucky another user pinged it. However, there’s got to be other affordable GPS trackers out there.
November 27, 2019 @ 7:19 am
According to their website, this works up to 400 ft.
Lets say this estimate is off by a factor of 10 and you can track things up to 4000 ft away. That’s still not even a mile. Pointless for most (probably all) things.
Having said that, if something is important maybe it’s worth a “tile” in the off chance someone stashed the gear nearby and you find out quick enough.
November 26, 2019 @ 6:30 am
Guessing the thief is one of Sunday’s Children…
November 26, 2019 @ 11:45 am
Probably. Most are hypocrites to the nth degree.
November 26, 2019 @ 2:02 pm
All that Strymon gear… that’s the money.
November 26, 2019 @ 6:21 pm
“Pedalboard.”
I’d bet most of those pedals belong to Mike Khalil, her fine lead guitarist.
Scumbag thieves.
November 27, 2019 @ 10:39 am
Need to start selling tags.