With thunderstorms in the forecast, Singapore was quite lucky to receive little more than a sprinkle. This was a huge relief to Laneway festival founder Danny Rogers, as he looked out into the crowd and thanked the previous attendees for braving what he called "monsoonal weather" last year.

Now I have never been to a Big Day Out before, so I can’t exactly jump on the criticising bandwagon and complain about how it’s changed. I will say that compared to the other festivals that I have been to, it was a little on the smaller side; with most of the stages packed into a small section of the foreshore.

By dawn on Sunday, we’d had a strategic nap and returned to the main stage to see the sun come up with a soundtrack from Tsuyoshi Suzuki, one of Japan’s most prominent trance DJs. The intensity had remained high for this time of morning, with the fiery spectacle at the main stage continuing and the dancers who had lasted the night still in an intense spell of raving.

Not a cloud could be found as we made our way to the St Jerome's Laneway Festival in Sydney. Indeed, the sun had come out to play on a typically beautiful Sydney summer day (which we haven't seen much of this year); a stark contrast to the weather of last year and a very welcome start to what would be a stellar day of music.

The irony of hosting Melbourne’s hippest festival in the western suburbs will never grow old and while the party has been in its new home for the third year running, some minor teething problems are yet to be eradicated, so let’s get the whinging out of the way first.

This is the way summer should be. Sun out, cold Coopers in hand, waiting for some tunes in the sixth installment of The Annandale’s local punk festival, Blood, Sweat & Beers. With a big month lined up for the iconic live music venue, Blood, Sweat & Beers kicked things off out back with Tommy Optional from the band The Optionals playing a solo acoustic set. Playing in much the same vein as Frank Turner, his folk tunes were perfect for a sunny afternoon.

Ah Big Day Out… the festival that has been running like a freight train year after year only to be halted this year by slow ticket sales and a ‘weak lineup’. And despite all my concerns leading into the day Ken West (minus Vivian Lees for the first time ever) pulled it off and put on a more than enjoyable day.

With the festival circuit getting increasingly competitive, reports of poor sound engineering and set delays could never be more damaging, however with an incredibly soggy lead up to the Brisbane leg of Laneway Festival, these problems were disappointing but not surprising. The festival organisers did well to ensure that all stages would be undercover, but unfortunately our dry vintage threads came at the cost of sound quality and atmosphere as we were herded into the RNA horse sheds.

There has been much talk about the behind-the-scenes happenings of Big Day Out lately, from the controversy to the ridiculously expensive ticket price but none of that seems to matter on the big day – as you enter the festival all you need is enough good music to make for a fun day.

Wasting no time, I positioned myself in the main area’s pavilion to check out what the early-afternoon had in store for the infamous blue and orange stages.

Under threatening grey skies, Sydneysiders flocked back to The Domain for the latest in Sydney Festival's free concert series. Tonight drew more members of the rock community with vocal extraordinaire Mike Patton's (Faith No More, Mr Bungle, Fantomas, Peeping Tom, Tomahawk to name a few) latest offering Mondo Cane: an ensemble including a twenty five piece orchestra performing Italian pop songs of the 1950 and 60s. While many of the crowd probably never listened to the album released in the later half of last year, you never miss an opportunity to see Mike Patton perform.

Whilst the first day of the festival had its undeniable highlights and a number of memorable music moments, it became clear fairly early in the day that the second day wasn’t going to disappoint either. Whether it be discovering new bands, insane dance circles, or enjoying an ice cold cider whilst listening to some great folk music, there was something for everyone on the final day of the festival.

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.