RICHMOND, Va. -- When Anderson .Paak pulled up to Richmond's Daydream Fest on Memorial Day, the superstar shocked many music fans at Main Line Brewery.
Pete LeBlanc, the founder of Daydream Fest, said he heard rumblings throughout the day that .Paak was in town and would show up to his festival.
"No, that's probably just a rumor," LeBlanc recalled thinking when he first heard .Paak was in Richmond. "I was like what are these people talking about?"
But during the festival, LeBlanc said his head of security got his attention and said it was urgent.
LeBlanc said his heart immediately sunk, as he assumed someone was acting up or needed to be thrown out of the festival he said he worked so hard to put together.
"Anderson .Paak is right in front of me," his head of security told him. "And he just arrived to see Butcher Brown. I think you might want to meet him."
LeBlanc said he immediately went over to Paak, the eight-time Grammy-award-winning artist, and "offered him all the hospitality he could."
"I went over and shook his hand and told him about Daydream a little bit and then I made him and his crew some drinks," LeBlanc said. "I made him a rum drink with some orange juice and grenadine. It was kind of cool."
Paak is best known for being one-half of the music group Silk Sonic.
He, along with Bruno Mars, released singles "Smokin' Out the Window" and "Leave the Door Open." The latter won four Grammys in 2022, including Record of the Year.
Besides his impromptu appearance at Daydream Fest, Paak posted an Instagram reel of him visiting Richmond restaurants like Savory Grain, 821 Cafe, and (almost) a Sonic without a drive-thru.
DJ Harrison of Butcher Brown, said he messaged Paak after seeing his Instagram reel of his time in Richmond.
"I was like 'Hey man I heard you're in my city, are you still here?" Harrison told CBS 6. Harrison says Paak told him he heard Butcher Brown would be performing at Daydream Fest and said he would try to make it.
"I ended up putting his name as 'Anderson P.' and plus one on the guest list. At that point I wasn't sure if he was gonna come or not," Harrison said. "But he came through. He said he had a good time."
So, what everyone wants to know, did LeBlanc ask Paak to get on stage and perform a little something for the crowd?
"I had this little hope that maybe he would get on stage with [Butcher Brown] and do something, but he just came to appreciate it."
I Have a Story
How Butcher Brown is continuing to make musical magic
However, Paak was generous and did snap tons of photos with LeBlanc, his team, performers, and festivalgoers.
Monday marked LeBlanc's third year hosting Daydream Fest, a music event he says focuses on highlighting the best of Richmond music.
"It's just a full day of really good vibes, really good music," he said.
LeBlanc said Daydream Fest will be held again during Memorial Day Weekend next year. You can check out his Instagram pagefor upcoming information on the 2025 festival.
Watch: How Butcher Brown is continuing to make musical magic
Do you know about a good news story happening in your community? Click here to email WTVR.com and the CBS 6 News team.
SHARE on social media to SPREAD the WORD!
