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Fort Worth's Leon Bridges and Austin's Spoon snag prestigious SXSW honors

Two days after wrapping up in Austin, South by Southwest has announced the winners of its third annual Grulke Prize, named after late creative director Brent Grulke. It's no surprise that smooth Fort Worth soul man Leon Bridges stood out above the hundreds of other new acts at the festival.

From his Wednesday performance at Spotify House to several more that followed throughout the weekend, Bridges' name was on the lips of festgoers everywhere I went. Of the prize he has won, following last year's recipient Future Islands, SXSW says this: "The Developing Act Prize is for artists who are breaking new ground with their creativity and show the most promise in achieving their career goals."

Bridges' new album is expected later this year. For more on the artist, take time to read our report from that Spotify House performance here.

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Austin's Spoon, which will headline Dallas' Homegrown Festival May 9, picked up the Grulke prize for Career Act, described thusly: "The Career Act Prize is for an established artist who appeared at SXSW to bring new light to their catalog, reinvent themselves or launch an important new project." Latest album They Want My Soul came out last year.

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According to the release about the honors, "the legendary NightBird Recording Studios at the Sunset Marquis will award the winners a two-day recording package that includes an engineer plus a two-night villa stay at the legendary Sunset Marquis Hotel located in West Hollywood, CA."