The last month alone may have sent English artist Example into absolute shock, with the incredible response to his 2022 UK tour announcement, amazing support for his new single, an upcoming eighth studio album, and a live performance he dubbed 'the show of a lifetime'. Now he's ready to bring it to Perth and Brisbane audiences.
The multi-platinum artist, songwriter and producer who's now living in Australia, Example (real name Elliot Gleave), is pumped to head to the Factory Summer Festival stage.The three-day Perth festival (18, 24, 31 December) – the Brisbane leg is a standalone one-day festival on NYE – is not only something that brings Example overdue joy, but he says it's an event more important than ever.
"It's all about bringing human beings together again! We are meant to hug, kiss, smell, touch," Example explains.
"The key thing is that music lifts people's spirits. It's important to people's mental health as well as their existence! It's their pride in being a human being."
This year's Factory Summer Festival could simply be the 'festival of absolute bangers', thanks to an exceptional range of diverse and talented artists.
Across three days, this incredible programme includes names like BROODS, Masked Wolf, Lime Cordiale, The Veronicas, Electric Fields and Cosmo's Midnight, just to name a few. With the final Perth show on New Year's Eve, how else would you want to welcome in 2022?
For Example, he's no stranger to festivals proving they impact us like no other. At the end of August, he showed us what it means to live up to the 'go hard or go home' mantra.
Giving no less than 100 per cent, Example proudly left nothing on the stage at Creamfields, the major UK festival. And he certainly had nothing left including his voice.
"I was feeling anxious and nervous before the show, which I've never felt, even performing in arenas for 20,000 people.
"I felt like I wasn't a match for Creamfields as I felt like I hadn't done enough preparation.
"I wasn't sure how the new song would go down, my wife wasn't with me and I had only arrived from Australia, but as soon as I got out on the stage, everyone started going crazy. Within the first 30 seconds, everything felt alright again."
While Example is elated with the exceptional level of love, it doesn't come without the haters. The phrase 'well, it's been a decade since you were last relevant' has been in Example's ear more than he'd like to admit.
In fact, he took to social media to share a 'public service announcement', expressing his raw thoughts on both the overwhelming love he is receiving from those listening to his new music as well as responses from people wondering if they 'fit his demographic' anymore.
Rather than allowing it to hurt him, Example explains it encouraged him to reassess his priorities. "If you release a great song that is undeniable, it will find its audience over time. Sometimes they are hits a few years later.
"I used to worry about relevance a lot and I've just cracked on with releasing music now that I love. And the numbers don't lie. The ticket sales and the streams don't lie.
"I have integrity in my music. I make music that I love and I feel like is a reflection of me and my life. If the radio wants to play me, great!
"If radio doesn't want to play me, f... 'em! It's not going to stop me having a career and doing what I love."
Also joining Example on stage at Factory Summer Festival (Perth leg only) is a duo who say they are proud mates of the English artist and cannot believe they are among the incredible acts on the line-up.
Matt Minor and Adam Morris from Australian dance act and electronic band Mashd N Kutcher are beyond stoked to be heading back to Perth.
"Not only do we have a lot of good friends in Perth, but we are very lucky to have a lot of awesome fans in Perth," Matt laughs.
"In the last couple of months, we did what shows we could. Unfortunately, for our dear friends in Perth, every time we advertise something that we get to do during COVID, the first question is 'what about Perth?'"
But it's so much more than being grateful for their doting Perth fans. Matt admits Western Australia can really be thanked for the inception of MNK.
"My best friend and Western Australian photographer, Rami, booked us for our first gig in Perth about seven years ago.
"In fact, Rami took us to the Factory Summer Festival in 2019 (then named Ice Cream Factory Summer Festival) and we went as punters in the crowd. I remember saying to him 'it would be so sick if we played here one day' and here we are!"
Mashd N Kutcher can't help but be elated to see their name on the Factory Summer Festival line-up, surrounded by a range of incredible yet diverse artists. Something the boys would like to see more of.
"We have been very lucky to tour through North America and one of the things we noticed that was quite different to here is that most festivals we played there had super diverse line-ups.
"To have festivals like Factory do that in Australia, it's so good because it's opening people up to different types of music."
Factory Summer Festival 2021 Line-Up
AirwolfBROODS
Carmouflage Rose
Cosmo’s Midnight*
Electric Fields
Example
FlexMami
Godlands*
Hermitude*
Jono
KLP
Lastlings*
Lime Cordiale*
Little Fritter
Lucille Croft*
Mashd N Kutcher*
Masked Wolf
Nina Las Vegas*
Set Mo*
Stace Cadet
The Veronicas*
Young Franco
Yung Gwopp
*Perth Performance only
Factory Summer Festival 2021 Tour Dates
18, 24, 31 December - Stadium Park (Perth)31 December - Eagle Farm Racecourse (Brisbane)
