MusikFEAST 2025

powered by PNC

By: Jon Lunger
Director of Content Marketing & Engagement, ArtsQuest

Working behind the scenes at Musikfest affords me the somewhat-unique perspective of getting to eat all my meals at the ‘fest for 11-days straight. It’s admittedly one of my favorite things in life, so you can imagine I was thrilled that our friends at PNC Bank green-lit yet another season of “MusikFEAST,” the blog and video series in which I eat my way across the festival.

Check back to this page throughout the ‘fest for my reviews of ‘fest foods, so you can plan accordingly, to maximize every. single. calorie.

Eat well,

– Jon

Sunday, August 10

Saving one of the best for last today. The Impossible Chopped Cheese is a delight! It’s the banana peppers in the “cheese” sauce the make it truly something special.

That’s a wrap on MusikFEAST 2025. We laughed, we cried, I ate… what a stupendous year it was!

I’m often asked what I ate the most of during the ‘fest, so here’s a shortlist of things I had multiple times this year:

North Side

Humpty’s Dumplings
MozzArepas
Tacos from 4 Raices

South Side

Sofrito Chicken Pita
Brown & White sandwich
Gyro bowl from Greek Street
Alligator Sausage on a Stick

I’m just one man, I can’t eat it all. But know that if I could, I absolutely would. A huge shoutout to all the official ‘fest food vendors and all the ‘festers who ate their way across the festival – y’all help make this the most delicious ‘fest in the land!

And of course, one last HUGE shout out to our friends at PNC Bank for helping us make MusikFEAST possible!

Saturday, August 9

Lovely Spam! Wonderful Spam!
Spa-a-a-a-a-a-a-am

Friday, August 8

Sometimes I have no idea if I’m going to like the food I’m trying. Other times, it’s fairly obvious. This is one of those times.

It’s bacon on stick, y’all and it’s glorious! If you’re imagining small, thin diner bacon, think again. These are thick cut monsters grilled to perfection.

Thursday, August 7

Taco, taco, taco!

What an absolute treat these bad boys were! I truly can’t say enough good things about them. If you’re looking for street tacos, this is the move.

Wednesday, August 6

Sometimes you just want a potato topped with mac and cheese, BBQ brisket, more cheese, frizzled onions, green onions and sour cream.

Most of the time, it’s a hard craving to shake, but not at Musikfest! The Red Cedar Grille has got you covered with their ridiculously tasty “Stuffies.” Tons of flavor in every bite and somehow surprisingly portable, these things are a gosh dang treat!

You say potato, I say stuffies!

Tuesday, August 5

Dumplings are elite. Hard stop, no notes.

Humpty’s Dumplings is an absolute must-try. Mix and match your order by selecting a variety of their amazing flavors. For me? It’s the Asain Pork and the Philly Cheesesteaks!

Monday, August 4

Today’s featured food made me do a little happy dance, so that’s all you really need to know. The Jerk Chicken from Marley’s Kitchen is phenomenal! I’m for sure heading back to try more, specifically the Jerk Hotdog they have!

Sunday, August 3

Welcome to Cheese-pull-platz, y’all. MozzArepas are on the “must try” list for sure. I dreamt about this thing last night. That’s not exaggeration, I dreamt of MozzArepas.

Saturday, August 2

Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich? YES PLEASE! What makes Grumpy’s sandwich standout is the smokiness that comes thru in the sauce and the chicken! The pickles give it a sweet lil’ kick… It’s hot, but not like melt-your-face-off hot… If you can handle medium heat buffalo wings, you’ll enjoy this sammie!

Friday, August 1

A hot new bombshell sandwich has entered the ‘fest!

If you’ve followed along with my MusikFEAST-ing over the last 6 years, you know I love the Brown & White roast beef sandwich from the FÜD Truck. A truly perfect sandwich. Well last night, it might have lost it’s crown to a new entry on the FÜD Truck’s menu – the Sofrito Chicken Pita!

No exaggeration – I’m going to eat this on multiple occassions over the course of the next 10 days!

Preview Night: Thursday, July 31

It’s here, it’s finally here! After a year of waiting, it’s finally time to ‘fest again!

For Preview Night at SteelStacks, I tried the new Pork Tacos available at the Mack Truck Stop at Air Products Americaplatz. Without exaggeration, these might be one of my new go-to ‘fest items!

Yum. Yum yum yum. Everything about these hit all the right notes, which is a perfect way to kick off Musikfest!

Check out our past seasons-eatings on YouTube: