SXSW Creative Director Brent Grulke Dies at 52

Head of SXSW’s music division and former Austin Chronicle music writer/editor, Brent Grulke, died from a heart attack in Austin on Monday. One of Grulke’s successors at the Chronicle, Raoul Hernandez, wrote on the publication’s website that he died following oral surgery.

Grulke started as a stage manager during SXSW’s first year in 1987 and eventually became the festival’s Creative Director. The Nebraska native moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas in the early ‘80s. Grulke was 52 and is survived by his wife Kristen and son Graham.

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