11 Year Old Michael McDonald Fan Gets to Meet Her Musical Idol in Person

Paisley Gardner, an unlikely fan of the incredibly talented singer Michael McDonald, was given the opportunity to meet her musical idol, first via video chat and then face to face in 2023, when she was 11 years old.

The parents of 11-year-old Paisley Gardner didn’t know what to think when she became obsessed with the smooth voice of 1970s soft rock legend Michael McDonald.

The Des Moines preteen became obsessed with McDonald’s voice when she heard him on the radio, saying that he sounded like an angel. Her slightly perplexed parents took her to see him performing with The Doobie Brothers and she was thrilled that he thanked her after the show.

Paisley says she was the youngest fan in the audience by a generation and the only one who actually got to talk to McDonald that was it he said thank you and that was enough for her.

Steve Hartmann of CBS News stepped in and arranged for her to talk to McDonald via video chat. Paisley was overwhelmingly surprised.

After my visit, I reached back out to Paisley and we talked about how cool it would be to have a real chat with him. The odds of that happening would be very very slim, or maybe not.

Just a couple of months later, Paisley and her family were offered a chance to meet McDonald in person at a concert of their choosing.

After Paisley had a surprise Zoom with her idol, the family received an exciting offer to extend an official invitation to you, Your wife, Paisley and Joplin, to come enjoy a future Doobie Brothers show of your choosing.