SXSW Officials Announce This Year's Grulke Prize Winners

AUSTIN, TX — SXSW officials on Monday announced the winners of this year's Grulke Prize.

Now in its sixth year, the award was named in honor of former Creative Director Brent Grulke, a friend and colleague of festival officials who died on Aug. 13, 2012. In a press advisory, SXSW officials said it was Grulke's love of music and the spirit of the festival that prompted them to create a prize in his honor recognizing artists in three categories: U.S. Act, Developing Non-U.S. Act and Career Act.

The Developing Act category recognizes artists breaking new ground with their creativity and showing the greatest promise in achieving their career goals. The Career Act Prize is for an established artist who appeared at SXSW to reinvent themselves or launch a new project, officials noted. Last year’s winners were The Lemon Twigs, Jain and Robyn Hitchcock, officials added.

This year, the Grulke Prize winner for Developing U.S. Act is Starcrawler. Hailing from Los Angeles, Starcrawler formed two years ago when lead vocalist Arrow de Wilde met drummer Austin Smith. Shortly thereafter, guitarist Henri Cash and bassist Tim Franco joined the band, according to a SXSW-provided bio. "The group is known for their squalling riffs, thundering beats and incendiary performances, fronted by de Wilde’s otherworldly magnetism," festival officials noted. "The band captivated audiences throughout their performances at this year’s music festival."

The Grulke Prize winner for Developing Non-U.S. Act is Jade Bird. "Already a recipient of the Reeperbahn Festival Anchor Award, this London-based songwriter took SXSW by storm, charming all who saw her with her clear voice and fetching songs," festival officials observed. "When she was barely a teenager, Jade learned to play guitar and started writing her own lyrics, eventually settling into an intense song-a-day pace. Some were good, others better left forgotten, but the process sharpened her chops and shaped her approach to songwriting." Bird's debut EP, Something American, is out now.

The Grulke Prize winner for Career Act is Todd Rundgren, which SXSW officials rightly categorized as "a wizard, a true star." As a songwriter, video pioneer, producer, recording artist, computer software developer, conceptualist, and — most recently — interactive artist (re-designated TR-i), Rundgren has made a lasting impact on both the form and content of popular music, officials said. "His myriad production projects include albums by Patti Smith, Cheap Trick, Psychedelic Furs, Meatloaf, XTC, Grand Funk Railroad, and Hall and Oates."

Jurors for the Grulke Prize include music critics, industry professionals, and SXSW staff, many of whom knew and worked with Grulke over the years, SXSW officials said. The SXSW festival took place in Austin from March 9-18.

>>> Images: Starcrawler – photo by Merrick Ales. Jade Bird – photo by Chris Saucedo/Getty Images. Todd Rundgren – photo courtesy of the artist. Uppermost logo courtesy of SXSW