Charlotte’s Lovin’ Life Music Fest food guide: We’ve got the 2025 local restaurant lineup
Several fan-favorite restaurants will be bringing a bit of local flavor to Lovin’ Life Music Festival.
This year, as dozens of rap, rock and pop artists will be hitting the stage, fans will also be able to get a taste of what organizers boast as some of the city’s most beloved eats.
Here’s a look at which popular Charlotte restaurants are listed in the food lineup at this year’s “Charlotte-flavored Lollapalooza” returning to uptown May 2-4:
Libretto’s Pizzeria
Cuisine: Pizza
Tapping into its owner’s hometown roots, Libretto’s Pizzeria serves up classic New York-style pizzas — with the choice of different toppings and crusts. The local restaurant, nestled in the Ballantyne neighborhood, also serves pastas, sandwiches, wings, homemade desserts and more.
Mac’s Speed Shop
Cuisine: Barbecue
Built out of a love for barbecue, beer and bikes, Mac’s Speed shop has been a staple in Charlotte’s food scene for nearly 20 years. The barbecue joint, which now has nine locations, serves classic comfort food made from scratch, plus more than 50 draft beers, wine and cocktails.
Fahrenheit
Cuisine: American
Fahrenheit, Charlotte’s first open-air rooftop restaurant and bar, is known for its stunning skyline views but also its steaks, seafood towers and other signature dishes. For a fancier festival meal, think “contemporary American cuisine with bold Asian influences” as organizers described.
Saku
Cuisine: Japanese
Enjoy a taste of traditional Japanese cuisine from Saku, an uptown restaurant that offers robata grilling of yakitori & kushiyaki and high quality sushi. The local restaurant also has a rotating menu of seasonal cocktails and sakes.
Special SuperVIP food vendors
There will also be even more fan-favorite restaurants serving up their signature dishes for fans who purchased LLMF’s priciest ticket pass, including:
Macarons, brownies and other sweet treats from Amélie’s
Fried chicken sandwiches from Bossy Beulah’s
Curated selection of food from FS Food Group, the team behind Midwood Smokehouse, YAFO Kitchen, Paco’s Tacos and Mama Ricotta’s.
If you’re looking for a bite to eat outside of the festival area, there are dozens of fast-casual eateries and upscale restaurants around the heart of the city. You can find a full list of where you can wine and dine around uptown online at uptowncharlotte.com.
Where to get tickets and lineup info
Still need to get your tickets? Check out our guide to 2025 Lovin’ Life passes, including single-day tickets.
The show’s full lineup can be found here, which includes artists Gwen Stefani, Benson Boone, Third Eye Blind, Pitbull, Weezer, Dave Matthews Band and more.
If you don’t love Lovin’ Life’s lineup this year (as some of our critics didn’t)? The founder of the event has a message for you.
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 9:28 AM with the headline "Charlotte’s Lovin’ Life Music Fest food guide: We’ve got the 2025 local restaurant lineup."
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