We were so incredibly sad to hear of the passing of the wonderful Brent Grulke yesterday.
Not least because it was so sudden. But also because he was in London just a fortnight ago.
Brent was a warm, funny, passionate, humble and mischievous man. I first met him a few years ago, unsurprisingly, at about 4am in the bar of the Queens Hotel in Brighton at the Great Escape.
His passion for music was evident, even at that time of the morning. It was always a pleasure to see him at various events – he was always so enthusiastic to be amongst bands and artists and the wider music community.
He’d started at SXSW in 1987 as a Stage Manager before becoming Creative Director and was one of the major influencers in making the festival what it is today.
You’d never know that’s what he did, though. He told me he was a janitor.
A very big loss.
Sybil and Joe
