Brent Grulke

Brent Grulke, the longtime creative director and driving force behind the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival, died Monday after a heart attack following oral surgery. He was just 52. Having been a tour manager, sound engineer and record label executive at Spindletop Records, Brent had been creative director at SXSW for nearly 20 years, playing a central role in the festival's transformation into an international event and making host city Austin the "Live Music Capital of the World"