“These instruments are more than just tools of our trade — they’re extensions of our musical souls,” Nancy Wilson says after her custom-built Telecaster and Paul Moak’s mandolin stolen in Atlantic City
Heart’s summer tour has been hit by an unforeseen misfortune as, on the eve of the trek’s first show, two “irreplaceable instruments” were stolen from the venue.
The band’s Royal Flush Tour kicked off May 31 in Atlantic City, but prior to that gig, the two instruments — a “custom-built, one-of-a-kind purple sparkle baritone Telecaster with a hand-painted headstock, crafted specifically for Nancy Wilson” and vintage 1966 Gibson EM-50 mandolin that band member Paul Moak has played for over 25 years — were both stolen after Heart’s gear was loaded into Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
“These instruments are more than just tools of our trade — they’re extensions of our musical souls,” a “devastated” Nancy Wilson said in a statement on social media. “The baritone Tele was made uniquely for me, and Paul’s mandolin has been with him for decades. We’re heartbroken, and we’re asking for their safe return—no questions asked. Their value to us is immeasurable.”
Heart is offering an unspecified reward and “no questions asked” for any information leading to the retrieval leading to their return. “Anyone with knowledge of the theft or whereabouts of the instruments is urged to come forward,” the band continued.
Despite the loss, Heart’s tour with Todd Rundgren will soldier on Wednesday with a concert in Vienna, Virginia. The Royal Flush tour will currently run through August 30, concluding in Bethel, New York.
In May 2024, Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson spoke with Rolling Stone about performing together on tour for the first time in five years. “We just got really tired of not playing together, and we both wanted to do a Heart tour,” Wilson said. “So then there is this question hanging in the air: Can Heart be Heart without Ann or can Heart be Heart without Nancy? It never could.”
However, the reunion tour was delayed after Ann Wilson revealed she underwent surgery and “preventative chemotherapy”; she has since successfully completed the chemotherapy.
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