Pom Pom Squad launch GoFundMe after gear stolen from van

Pom Pom Squad have been touring Europe with PUP this fall, and sadly had their gear stolen on November 1 outside of Milan. The band made a GoFundMe, describing the incident and listing the stolen gear in the hopes of raising $35,000 to replace it. They write:

On November 1st, on the tail end of our European tour with Pup, our van was broken into in the parking lot of an Airbnb in Rho, Italy, a few miles outside of Milan. We had gone into the Airbnb around 1:40 PM just to drop off our suitcases before the show and stayed inside for about 45 minutes. By the time we’d gotten out, our van’s driver-side window was smashed and all of our gear had been taken out of the trunk. Several personal items were also stolen, including Mia’s backpack and one of her suitcases, which contained almost all of her personal belongings, including her wallet, laptop, meds, a Nintendo Switch, and more.

With the help of two strategically placed AirTags, we were able to find a dumpster where Mia’s suitcase had been almost entirely emptied out. The other AirTag that was attached to her guitar case had been thrown into a drain. We’ve filed police reports, but the fact of the matter is we are likely not going to get our stuff back. It is a tremendous financial and emotional loss. These are items that we acquired over the course of years – some things even close to a decade – plus hundreds in actual cash from merch sales and venue payouts. There are several custom-made items gone like Mia’s stage costumes and in-ear monitors, Alex’s guitar, and priceless personal items like Mia’s and our tour manager Ryn’s journals. Journals, dude?

We have been called crazy for how meticulous we are with loading everything out of the van every night. We don’t care if it’s pouring rain, 4 A.M, everybody sick, whatever. We never wanted to make this type of post and were determined to never let it happen. We left the van unattended in a completely full, well-lit parking lot for an Airbnb in a gated apartment complex for 45 minutes. That was enough time for some people to do a smash-and-grab and leave us unable to finish the remaining shows with PUP and forced to scramble in order to prepare for our upcoming dates with Bartees Strange.

As of now, the band has surpassed their original goal, raising over $36,000 in less than two days. Vocalist Mia Berrin posted on Twitter updating the goal to cover “increased security measures for [their] van,” as well as merch for the upcoming tour, which runs through the end of the year. She writes, “Ultimately our hearts are so full. None of us could have predicted how many people have come to our aid. I’m so thankful to everyone in the touring party and on our team who worked so hard to get the GoFundMe set up and all the folks who have been donating and sharing ❤️.”

As mentioned, Pom Pom Squad are set to support Bartees Strange‘s upcoming tour, which kicks off this week. The tour also features They Hate Change and Spring Silver, and comes to NYC for two dates in mid-November: November 15 at Elsewhere and November 16 at Bowery Ballroom. All dates below.

Bartees Strange — 2022 Tour Dates
Nov 3 Thu Thunderbird Cafe Pittsburgh, PA, United States *
Nov 4 Fri Grog Shop Cleveland, OH, United States *
Nov 5 Sat The Basement Columbus, OH, United States *
Nov 7 Mon Turf Club St Paul, MN, United States
Nov 8 Tue Thalia Hall In The Round Chicago, IL, United States
Nov 9 Wed Loving Touch Detroit, MI, United States
Nov 14 Mon Sinclair Lori H Boston, MA, United States
Nov 15 Tue Elsewhere Brooklyn, NY, United States +
Nov 16 Wed Bowery Ballroom New York, NY, United States +
Nov 29 Tue Parish Austin, TX, United States
Nov 30 Wed Deep Ellum Art Company Dallas, TX, United States
Dec 5 Mon Music Box San Diego, CA, United States
Dec 6 Tue Regent Theater DTLA Los Angeles, CA, United States
Dec 7 Wed The Independent San Francisco, CA, United States
Dec 9 Fri Neumos Seattle, WA, United States
Dec 10 Sat Fox Cabaret Vancouver, BC, Canada
Dec 11 Sun Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR, United States
Dec 13 Tue The Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, UT, United States
Dec 14 Wed Bluebird Theater Denver, CO, United States
Dec 15 Thu Slowdown Omaha, NE, United States
Dec 16 Fri Beer City Music Hall Oklahoma City, OK, United States
Dec 18 Sun Terminal West Atlanta, GA, United States
Dec 19 Mon The Basement East Nashville, TN, United States

* = No Pom Pom Squad
+ = No They Hate Change