For the fourth and final day of Culture Collide we were treated to the spectacular Block Party, with stages, food trucks and the expansive crowd creating a vibrant scene at Los Angeles’ Reservoir Street in Echo Park. Arriving in the afternoon to find Los Angeles’ locals soaking up both the quality live music on offer, as well as the Californian sunshine, I knew I was in for a great final night of Culture Collide.

It’s hard to believe a year has passed since the last Culture Collide - one of the industry’s youngest BIGSOUND-esque showcase events, now in its third annual edition, put on by Filter Magazine - yet here we are once again, running straight from the airport (and along flight from Sydney) to Los Angeles’ trendy Echo Park area in Silverlake to attend the first night of festivities...

I’d like to start this article by thanking Music NT, AUM and the traditional owners of the land – the Larrakia people – for being wonderful hosts and inviting myself and Johnny up for what was a fantastic weekend in Darwin; our first ever visit to the top end.

Pictured: Jack White by Marc Grimwade for Splendour In The Grass. Used with Permission

There was more than the singular element of rock today at the opening day of Splendour In The Grass 2012, with a single torrential downpour appearing from the heavens during an early afternoon set from local punk-electrorock duo DZ Deathrays, causing the thoroughfares and car parks to become quagmires of mud not far off from resembling cow shit.

Over the weekend, the 59th annual Sydney Film Festival wrapped things up with an excellent closing night film and party at the beautiful State Theatre. One of my favourite things about the festival is its inclusion of the classic venue - it's a joy to see a film as they were watched many decades ago: in massive rooms like this with thousands of seats. And given the context, much like back in those days, every screening was an event in itself.

As the tens of thousands who’ve flocked to Great Stage Park for this years Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival settled in for their first complete day of festivities, the event began to show its true breadth, opening all of its stages to welcome a massive range of music, cinema and comedy before closing the night with one of the worlds most revered modern rock bands, Radiohead.

As 80,000 people from all corners of the globe converged in the small town of Manchester, Tennessee, Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival kicked off its 11th round of festivities today.

A new day, a new approach. Through no fault of my own this day was hard to follow owing to overlapping set and a hefty does of indecisiveness. This saw a rapid-fire approach for the first half of the day before settling in entirely at the main stage for the night.

The final day of music for me on this trip quite appropriately kicked off with the annual Aussie BBQ at Heebie Jeebies. With the stage in an outdoor beer garden (right next to the BBQ), the weather had us nervous but thankfully the overcast sky stayed just that; the rain keeping at bay. This kept the venue packed and made for one hell of an Aussie BBQ to end their run of shows in the UK for 2012 (they’re off to Singapore next).

The final day of The Great Escape in Brighton kicked off with the annual Aussie BBQ, a travelling roadshow of Australian musicians at festivals like this and SXSW. You’ll be able to look into our archives to see all our coverage of these wonderful events over the years.

At day two of The Great Escape in Brighton, it being Friday meant that the crowds were growing, the lines getting longer, and thankfully some sunshine came along with it. Day two also brought with it a headlining spot from Australia’s own The Temper Trap, who continue to go gangbusters around the world as the push their new self-titled record, which will see them back in Australia later this month.