‘Slap in the face’: Former lead singer of Bishop Gunn indicted after alleged theft of ex-bandmate’s equipment

Published 11:29 am Saturday, April 20, 2024

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NATCHEZ — Travis McCready, the former lead singer of Bishop Gunn has been indicted for possession of stolen property charges after he allegedly broke into his former bandmate’s sound studio and stole thousands of dollars worth of music equipment and electronics.

He was booked into the Adams County jail on Thursday, arrest records show.

“After all my family did for him and then to steal nearly $100,000 worth of my gear. Slap in the face so to speak,” said Burne Sharp, who was the former drummer of Bishop Gunn and owner of Natchez Sound Studio.

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The indictment signed April 11 by Assistant District Attorney Matt Kidder states, “On or about September 27, 2023, Travis McCready did willfully, unlawfully and feloniously possess stolen music equipment and electronics belonging to Richard Sharp, III,” at McCready’s Natchez residence.

An Adams County grand jury was empaneled Feb. 26, according to the indictment.

It took over a year for Sharp to locate all of the stolen items, which he found through pictures posted on social media, he said.

“I started to see what seemed like all my missing items, compressors, mics, etc.,” he said. “It was enough to finally get to the PD to issue a search warrant.”

By the time a search warrant was obtained, Sharp said he already knew his equipment was right in the front room of his ex-bandmate’s house.

A warrant wouldn’t be issued until the proof was “insurmountable,” he said.

“I served it with them to help point out my music gear. Roughly 80% of what was taken was recovered.”

McCready is well-known as the former lead singer of the band Bishop Gunn, which quickly rose to stardom before breaking apart in February 2020, citing “internal issues” as the cause.

Bishop Gunn cruised to the top of the Billboard Blues Album chart in 2018 with their debut album called “Natchez.” The band name itself was inspired by a tombstone that band members saw in Natchez over the resting place of the sixth Bishop of Natchez, John Edward Gunn.   Bishop Gunn toured Europe with Slash after playing two cruises with Kid Rock and received multiple accolades from Rolling Stone Magazine’s top country charts.

The band’s second album, “Gypsy Cadillac” — which had been recorded in 2019 and before — was released in 2021 and quickly hit top spots on Apple Music in multiple genres.  Since the breakup, McCready has performed solo at music festivals throughout the region.

Anyone arrested is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.