OKEECHOBEE -- The party continued at the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival (OMF) on  Saturday, March 4, with a monumental surprise performance during the festival's annual PoWoW! all-star jam session. GRAMMY award-winning artist Anderson .Paak had festival goers on their feet when he joined his friends and bandmates Free Nationals for an unforgettable surprise performance. Performing a medley of his hits, including “Come Down” and “Suede,” the celebrated musician had the crowd booming with his signature amalgamation of sounds that span hip-hop, soul, rock and R&B.

The PoWoW! is known for pairing unexpected artists together for a variety of imaginative live mashups that mix the sounds of multiple genre-defining tunes. This year’s eclectic group of artists consisted of one half of the iconic group OutKast, Big Boi; Rick Mitarotonda and Peter Anspach of popular jamband Goose; Adam Deitch from Break Science; and producer Borahm Lee; along with vocalist India Shawn, drummer Thomas Pridgen, trumpet sensation Maurice “MoBetta” Brown, and Gary Bias, Reggie Young and Bobby Burns of Earth, Wind and Fire. Mo Pleasure, former member of Earth, Wind, & Fire took on the title of music director. The PoWoW! has been one of the defining moments of each OMF festival and this year was no different, creating a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration.