Kitty Daisy & Lewis captured by Carl Dziunka.

Perth, being the most isolated capital city tends to find itself playing host to a lot touring bands playing their final shows of any given tour; especially if they’re in the country for Splendour. This can generally lead to some pretty interesting shows, in some cases the bands are tired and ready to get off the road, in others they’re in full party mood – which inevitably leads to some loose and very fun and entertaining shows.

A melting pot of Australian talent in Husky Gawenda, Fergus Linacre, and Jordie Lane joined forces to perform two Beatles albums - Rubber Soul and Revolver - back to back at the beautiful Sydney Opera House this past weekend, ending what has been a hugely anticipated national tour.

Richard Thompson performs while The Milk Carton Kids look on...

Our third day started off on stage three with the phenomenal "Define Folk" session, featuring Oysterband, Richard Thompson, Geoff Muldaur and Amos Garrett and The Milk Carton Kids. We arrived just in time for Geoff Muldaurs' delivery of "Tennessee Blues", which had a beautiful heartfelt country blues feel to it, before Richard Thompson went on to sing a gentle Celtic folk song accompanied by a rich swirl of strings.

Pictured: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

On Day Two of Edmonton Folk Music Festival, we were treated to a rich and wonderfully extensive line up of artists, spread out across seven stages. Our night of music kicked off with the exciting and very promising session entitled "Magical Moments" with Jenn Grant, Bear's Den, John Smith and Danny Michel collaborating for a special performance.

Of Monsters and Men get the crowd clapping as the day's headliners...

The 36th Edmonton Folk Music Festival kicked off today in style, bringing a mix of incredible acts to its suitably relaxed crowd. A four day festival, Day One eased us into the event with a 6pm start and strong line up of acts on just the one stage. Spread out across the grassy natural amphitheater on rugs and chairs, the audience soaked up the phenomenal talents on offer including The Dhuks, Bombino, Angus & Julia Stone and Of Monsters and Men.

Paul McCartney hits the stage to a mammoth crowd.

Lollapalooza 2015 was a grand and hugely successful event (sold out, after all) that offered the best of the best over its three day lifespan. Spreading out across the glorious Grant Park of Chicago with eight stages, over thirty food and drinks stalls, lines of stores and some one hundred thousand attendees, this is a festival that doesn’t do anything by halves. From scorching heat to storm scares that led to evacuations on the final day, Paul McCartney to Metallica, and many many more phenomenal acts both old and new, Lollapalooza 2015 was packed with a long list of incredible music moments.

Photo Credit: John Goodridge

I last saw Death Cab For Cutie play HQ in 2012 and it was the first time I'd seen a crowd of 20 somethings - both men and women - react so intensely, revelling in nostalgia, melancholy and an emotional tornado swept up by the band's excellent delivery of lovelorn rock tunes. Fast forward to 2015 and we're back in the same venue but nothing much else has changed - the fans and the band have gotten a few years older but we're all wanting that same experience.

You would be inclined to think that seeing your favourite band live would automatically equate to an amazing experience. Sadly, the last time I saw Death Cab For Cutie at The Enmore Theatre two years ago, I was underwhelmed to say the least; perhaps it was the heartbreak from Gibbard’s recent divorce, perhaps he just didn’t give a damn. While the songs were delivered note-perfect, the unavoidable truth came in the form of the realisation that there’s more to a gig than just the pitch of a performance – there also needs to be soul and charisma.

Photo Credit: Kerrie Geier

Walking through the Entertainment Centre ‘Orb’ (as the staff there call it) on Thursday night there was a buzz fuelled by genuine excitement from all demographics of Adelaide. Only a small selection of bands can generate the level of excitement that The Wombats managed last week, the fact that they were upgraded from Thebby Theatre to the Entertainment Centre is a compliment in itself.

Photo Credit: Stuart Sevastos

It had been 18 years between visits for Blur when they played Perth Arena on Thursday night, or as frontman Damon Albarn aptly put it, "It’s been a while… A generation".

When most people think of The Beatles, the massive hits and albums are likely to come to mind first. Even if you're unsure of what album the songs are featured on, you could probably name one hand some classics. In Rubber Soul and Revolver, the sixth and seventh albums released by The Beatles in the mid-sixties, are some of my favourite Beatles songs - from the lilting "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)", to "Eleanor Rigby" and of course, "Tomorrow Never Knows", both records signified important stages in The Beatles' career and it's no surprise that they've continued to be revered well into today's music culture.

Photo Credit: Rebecca Houlden

If you were to get myself, at 15 years old, to guess which band they were listening to would in half a decade’s time become an arena act, England’s The Wombats wouldn’t even cross my mind. Nethertheless, it’s now five years passed and I’m standing at the back of the pit of Margaret Court Arena, watching Circa Waves playing some truly jangly Britpop that sounds nothing like Circa Survive and wondering what five thousand people dancing to the idea of dancing to Joy Division looks like. Scanning the seats I can see more than a few faces are experiencing their first case of, "Oh fuck, I really should have brought earbuds".

Bethany Cosentino is no longer just a chill Californian girl with a cat named Snacks who gets high and writes about her boyfriends. Now she's a chill Californian woman whose rock lyrics straddle mid 20's apathy and genuine existential crises. The music too has matured - from the minute long surf rock blitzes of debut Crazy For You, to the fully realised pop hooks of 2015's California Nights.

It’s been a while since Britpop icons Blur have graced our shores with a full tour – 18 years in fact. Not to worry, however, as they are currently Down Under as headliners of Splendour In The Grass and were kind enough to stop by Rod Laver Arena to pump out a solid two hours of hits, misses, and everything in between. With fellow Briton Jamie T in support, the close to capacity crowd were treated to spectacular lighting and a group that clearly haven’t forgotten how to put on a show.

Photo by Gwendolyn Lee.

Coming down after the high that was a Splendour In The Grass weekend, you’d imagine some times bands and punters (myself included) might struggle to pull it all together and have a great night at a live show. Fortunately for myself and everyone else at Sydney’s Metro Theatre, The Vaccines were still at the top of their game and smashed out an almightily impressive set.