Louis Meyers, the co-founder of SXSW has passed away on the first day of the festival.
The entertainment festival, which has been based in Austin, Texas for 30 years, was co-founder by Meyers in 1987.
Meyers, a musician, who created the event to grant greater exposure to the local music scene, passed away on Friday.
Aengus Finnan, Folk Alliance International director confirmed Meyers' passing.
On the very same day, president of the United States Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at the event where he highlighted his views on how technology should be harnessed to make the government run better and defended his digital legacy.