Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP
Daniel Caesar performs at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on Friday, April 22, 2022, in Indio, Calif.
More than 1,000 people showed up to Bear Creek Pioneers Park in Houston on Saturday to hear Daniel Caesar perform an impromptu acoustic set. The Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office shut it down shortly after.
Caesar, a Grammy Award winner known for his 2017 album “Freudian” and his chart-topping guest appearance on Justin Bieber’s “Peaches,” teased a Houston appearance on Friday, sharing an Instagram post with his location near Aldine, writing, “Should I??”
On Saturday, Caesar shared a video on TikTok and Instagram showing him in a car announcing the impromptu set, just hours in advance.
“OK, Houston,” Caesar said in the video. “We’re pulling up now to Bear Park, something — I put the coordinates in the chat. And let’s say — what is it, 2 o’clock? Let’s say 4? We’ll say 4 o’clock.”
As many as 1,500 people showed up to the performance, according to Jeff McShan, a spokesperson for the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office. Videos shared on social media show hundreds of fans circled around Caesar, who sat on a stool with an acoustic guitar and speakers in a field.
McShan said Caesar did not have a permit to perform in a public park. Shortly after the concert began, law enforcement officers approached Caesar, who agreed to shut down the performance, according to McShan.
Caesar has not acknowledged the incident on social media.
More than 200 cars were parked inside the park, with some of them parked on the grass and on hills, according to McShan. No one was arrested for the concert on Saturday, though it took three hours to clear the park after the performance was shut down, McShan said.
The park is in Harris County Commissioners Court Precinct 4, which is represented by Lesley Briones. Briones’ website has a page for park reservation policies, which require payments as well as a law enforcement presence if the event has more than 100 attendees.
A spokesperson for Briones did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.