It's been a bumper few weeks for Australian festivals and announcements; we've picked the cream of the crop so as not to leave you hanging! First off, we turn to the latest news from Heatwave Festival over the whole "D12 not showing up" thing...

The countdown to the countdown was beginning as the festival warmed up for the day. I was hurting all over; my body hated me for not protecting it from the dangers of the sun and the liquor. But it was New Year’s Eve, so there was no other option but to suck it up and get back amongst it. Gossling was the perfect welcome back to the real world, with her soft, brooding yet heartening and peaceful tunes on the Valley Stage.

The fourth and final day of the Falls Festival gets off to a hot start. Kimbra and The Grates are popular on the Valley Stage, while Arj Barker and 360 (pictured above) are crowd favorites on the Grand Theatre. Arctic Monkeys bring in the New Year and despite some confusion about the countdown everyone welcomes 2012 with group hugs and sparklers.

After some last minute scrambles for camping supplies and many phone calls to co-ordinate our seven-car convoy, I finally arrived at my fourth consecutive Falls Music and Arts Festival.

The weather was fine, and the beautiful, picturesque site about 10km inland from Lorne was slowly filling up with cars, gazebos, tents and people. We battled with our camping gear and what seemed like hours later our 25-person campsite community was created.

Day Two of the Falls Festival in Lorne saw over a dozen artists perform in the beautiful sunshine on the Valley Stage, including none other than CSS, pictured above. The Village was a place for artists to meet, mingle and create. Our photographer John Goodridge was there to capture the action.

Day 1 of the Lorne Falls Festival was held in the Grand Theatre near the beautiful Erskine Falls. An eclectic range of performers set a zany start to the four day festival. Our photographer John Goodridge was there to catch the action.

As we hit the second day of 2012, we take a look back at how hundreds of thousands of music fans around Australia brought in 2012 through a string of events on New Years Eve and New Years Day.

Over the last few weeks, a pile of announcements have been made about events and festivals around the country. Here’s a round up of all the latest news - including the massive announcement from Peats Ridge Festival that they will be streaming the entire event live - a first in Australia!

Here are the latest festival updates for a few festivals we can't wait for!

While on the road in Portland, Larry Heath catches up with Hugh Harris of The Kooks ahead of their Falls Festival and Southbound Festival performances, to chat about the upcoming tour (their first ever New Years Eve shows), the latest album, America and much more...

Hi Hugh! How are you going?

Hi mate! Really good thank you!

Where abouts are we speaking to you from?

Ahead of their performances at Falls Festival - alongside a few sideshows - Larry Heath catches up with Ivan Katz, drummer of New York collective Easy Star All-Stars, famous for their Reggae inspired cover albums...

Youʼre coming back down to Australia, itʼs been a few years. The last time you were here I think was for Bluesfest in ʼ09?

Rupert Orton is the guitarist for The Jim Jones Revue. They're coming back to town for Falls Festival and Southbound Festival and some sideshows. We talked to him about the upcoming tour (and their last tour in Australia) from his home base in the UK.

AU: How are you this morning? Is it morning there? Where are you?

Rupert: No, it's evening man. I'm not bad, I'm not bad.