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.

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