LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A sour note for a local string band. Somebody stole a key piece they need to put on a show.
The musicians that form Mama Said String Band play music full time.
"We play all the way from New York City to the bottom of Florida, and we use that van to get around," Katie Didit said.
They've traveled 40,000 miles in the past year, so the van that the band uses needed a tune-up. They dropped it off at an auto shop in Germantown and left the keys in a drop box.
Surveillance video from Saturday morning shows a man wearing a hat, hiding his face, riding a bike to the drop box. Within five minutes of arriving, he cracked the code and pulled out keys.
"And then in the other video, he was trying the key in every car down the line. And then finally when he got to our van, there's the ticket," Didit said.
The band also lost merchandise, cash, microphones and other gear that was left in the van.
"It was our whole career wrapped up in that little van," Didit said.
Their next gig is Friday in Tennessee. They'll be renting a vehicle to get there, and borrow equipment from friends. But unless the van is returned, they'll have to find a way to scratch enough cash to buy another.
"This is how we make a living. We don't have jobs outside of this. This is what we do. And it's our dream," Kaitlen Farmer said.
Mama Said String Band survived the pandemic shutdowns of 2020, so its members are used to challenges.
"I have faith that we're gonna be okay, no matter what," Didit said.
Members say that if someone does spot the van, to reach out to them on Facebook.
As for the man in the video, they say all is forgiven if he brings it back, and they wouldn't press charges.
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