It was a dream come true for 23-year-old Aerosmith fan Anthony Yorfido when the rock band’s lead singer offered him special backstage passes to his sold-out show in Niagara Falls last week.

What the young Steven Tyler fan didn’t know was the concert was going to be even more exciting than he had imagined.

Yorfido, a Welland, Ont. resident who was born with Down syndrome, and his mother Diane bumped into the rock legend while shopping at a medical supply store in Niagara Falls on Thursday.

“I saw this big limo, I walked in and I saw his ponytail,” Yorfido told CP24 Sunday.

“I went crazy.”

Yorfido, who had previously been unable to get tickets to one of Steven Tyler’s two sold-out shows in Niagara Falls, said the Aerosmith frontman gave him a hug and immediately offered him backstage passes to his concert at Fallsview Casino later that day.

“I was in tears,” Yorfido said.

The 23-year-old was in for a big surprise later that night at the concert when Tyler invited him on stage to play the maracas during the song ‘Sweet Emotion.’

“I was in shock,” Yorfido said with a smile. “I did it.”

His mother, who was unable to attend the concert, said Tyler was very “down to earth” when they ran in to him shopping.

“It was just amazing,” she said.

“He’s like, ‘I didn’t come here to get a back brace,’ he said, ‘I came here to meet my new buddy Anthony,’” she recalled.

“We both had tears in our eyes.”