Jimmy Fallon is making his annual pilgrimage to Upstate New York. On Saturday, March 1, The Tonight Show host, 50, paid a special visit to Mulconry’s Irish Pub and Iron Smoke Distillery in Fairport, New York to spend time with old friends and greet excited fans. During his time at the pub, he joined the band playing on stage, served drinks to patrons, smiled for photos with fans and spoke to local NBC affiliate News10 about his personal connection to the bar and why he keeps coming back year after year. "I come here once, twice a year. I love the people here. It's super fun. Everyone's kind of nice and normal, and they say 'hi,' take a couple pictures and then we kind of move on," he told the outlet. "Usually, I come around St. Patrick's Day, but I thought that was too on the nose, and so I kind of moved it up to kind of March 1 or March 2," he continued, adding that the bar's owners were "old friends." Julia Merante, a local resident, told PEOPLE that Fallon "waved me over to say hello" after he spotted her "fangirling" following his interview with the news outlet. "I went to hug him and quickly thought to myself like, 'Omg that was so rude of me! I should not have just assumed he’d be okay with hugging random people?' But as soon as I went in for it, he gave me the tightest hug - like a grandma level hug," she said. "You could tell he was genuinely very excited and happy to see people happy!" After Merante revealed the television personality was the first celebrity she's met, she said Fallon "shook my hand to 'formally' be the first famous person I’ve ever met." "Jimmy Fallon was super down to earth and incredibly warm and welcoming," she continued. "He’s exactly like you see him on his show! Friendly, witty, funny and happy to be there ... Surreal experience!" Local musician, Sam Nitsch, who reportedly sang a duet of Radiohead's "Creep" with Fallon, told local outlet WROC of the late night host's surprise appearance and confessed he felt a little starstruck after meeting him in person. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. “Oh man. It was an absolutely unreal experience!" Nitsch told the local news station. "I was actually watching him on the SNL 50th anniversary special the night before and to go from that to singing Radiohead on stage with him the next day is something that’s going to take a while to process." He added, “Jimmy genuinely seemed like someone who gets a lot of joy from uplifting the community. It’s definitely a story I’ll be telling for the rest of my life."