Musician's Accordion Stolen After Tulsa Woody Guthrie Tribute Concert

Editor's note: Lorkovic's accordion was taken from the Brady Theater, not the Mayo Hotel.  

The "most photographed Chinese accordion in the world" has been snatched by thieves who were most likely looking to score some pretty cool folk art from an event honoring an Oklahoma music legend.

Radoslav Lorkovic is one of the musicians who was in Tulsa to perform the "This Land is Your Land: A Woody Guthrie Centennial Concert" at the Brady Theater Saturday night. 

"I was in the upstairs lounge, having a few drinks with friends, and the accordion was in its case, leaning up against the wall," Lorkovic said.

"Just being a musician, I kept looking over to check to make sure it was still there, like I always do, and then I looked over and was shocked to see it was gone."

He found out from a security guard that two men carried out a case with stickers all over it.

Lorkovic was astonished, but seems to have a good sense of humor about it.

"I said, 'That's it, they actually stole my accordion,'" Radoslav Lorkovic said with a laugh. "Really, the case is worth more than the instrument itself. "

Lorkovic said the incident doesn't leave him with a bad impression of Tulsa.

"I'm sure what happened was [the thieves] were just fascinated with memorabilia from such a big event," Lorkovic said. "The case has stickers on it from 20 years of folk festivals throughout the world."

Saturday's concert at the Brady, Lorkovic said, was a shining moment for him. The stage hosted some of the biggest names in music -- from Roseanne Cash and Jackson Browne to Old Crowe Medicine Show and Oklahoma's Flaming Lips -- who were all there to honor Guthrie.

"It was magnificent," Lorkovic said. "It was the greatest show I've ever been a part of in my life. Woody Guthrie was the most influential, if not the influence of my career. Most of the people I admire count him as an influence, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne – who I had the pleasure of playing with Saturday night."

As for the missing accordion, Lorkovic said, a friend has put up a reward, which is lot more than a pawn shop would pay for it. 

"It is worth very little, if anything at all," he said. "It's worth the world to me though."

Lorkovic said he was gifted the instrument in 1992, when he met the original owner at a show in Italy.

"I told him I was madly in love with it," Lorkovic said. "...Then later he stopped his show and gave it to me. I haven't played another accordion in 20 years."

Lorkovic is hoping the accordion-snatchers have a change of heart and return the instrument to the front desk at the Mayo Hotel.

You can visit Lorkovic's Facebook page to learn more about him.