Rock band tour manager and fashion designer to share stage

A rock band tour manager who worked with Black Sabbath and Motorhead is among the line-up of speakers for a major creative industries conference in Scotland this month.

Kim Hawes, who penned a book about her experience on the road, now works as a life coach helping others achieve their goals within the music industry.

She is one of the speakers at the two-day XpoNorth digital conference on June 16-17.

Other speakers include Scottish fashion designer Patrick Grant, TV historian Professor Kate William, author and broadcaster Sam Delaney, ex-international rugby star Edward Crozier, and Outlander producer Michael Wilson.

Kim Hawes, who penned a book about her experience on the road as a tour manager, is one of the speakers at the conference. Picture: contributed.

XpoNorth is Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s year-round support mechanism for creative industry businesses based across the region.

The project delivers a range of programmes to encourage the growth and innovation of the sector.

Alex Smith, project manager at XpoNorth, said: “Last year, our first digital edition of the conference was attended by over 6,000 people, making it Scotland’s largest conference at the time.

“With the superb calibre of speakers we’ve got lined up for this year, coupled with much-improved interactivity and a wider scope of sessions incorporating wellbeing and practical business support, I have no doubt this year’s conference will be our best attended yet. The opportunities available to learn from some of the best in the creative business, network with peers, and unite to discuss new ways of working in this period of accelerated change is not to be missed.”

Highlands-based quintet Elephant Sessions will be performing songs from their award-winning albums at the conference’s afterparty.

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