You know the routine when it comes to what kind of food to expect when you go to a music festival. Cardboard tasting pizza, dried out and over cooked cheese burgers and my personal favorite stale nachos covered in fresh nacho cheese made from water and some sort of mystical powder.

I was lucky enough to attend Louder Than Life over the weekend and spoiled myself for every future musical festival going forward.  With their self-described, “Epic Man Food,” Louder Than Life set out to change people’s expectations on food options at an outdoor concert. BBQ, Wood Fired Pizza and Chicago styled hot dogs were just a few of the options available for hungry concert goers.

Being somewhat of self-proclaimed grilled cheese expert, “The Big Cheesy”, was my first stop. I decided on the “Cheese Louise,” a triple cheese grilled cheese sandwich. The sandwich was big on the cheese and pretty greasy as well, but who said I was here for health food?

For lunch, I opted for “Phat Daddy’s”, a cajun style restaurant out of Tennessee. I tried the gator tail with jalapeño hushpuppies. Adding a little hot sauce and a squirt of fresh squeeze lemon and you have a meal fit for a rock god.

Now, it wouldn’t be a hard rock festival without a little hard liquor. Heading over to the Big Bourbon Bar, I found over 20 different types of Kentucky’s famous dark liquor. I sampled a little bit of Bulleit in a BLT (bourbon, tonic and a lemon wedge) As much as I would have liked to have reviewed more BLTs and various other bourbons, I still had a concert to review.

Many of the food vendor such as “Island Noodles” and “Chicago Dog House”, had long and busy lines throughout the day and evening.  If someone wasn’t checking out a band, they were likely found trying out some sort of “Epic Man Food” or drink. Cleary Louder Than Life is on to something.  Here’s hoping it spreads to more festivals.