Josh Fischel, who toured the world as a musician, collaborated with bands such as Sublime and organized the highly ambitious Music Tastes Good Festival held just last weekend, has died.

Fischel’s cause of death could not be immediately confirmed. Mark Magdaleno, who served as a community liaison for the music festival, said Fischel died Thursday. He was 47.

“Josh truly was a gentle giant, tall in frame and tall in presence,” Magdaleno said in an email. “I’ve known him for a few years and I’m not sure when it began, but I always ran to hug him and almost cling to him as if he was a safe zone. The last memory for me is hugging him at the end of The Specials set last Saturday and thanking him for bringing this gift to our city and my neighborhood. He was kind, loving, gentle. The entire fabric of our city has been changed forever.”

The Specials were among the headliners of Music Tastes Good, a three-day festival that took place last weekend in the East Village Arts District. Music Tastes Good’s lineup also featured several local bands and restaurateurs.

“It was like a dream that he and I, and so many people had talked about. A big music festival in Long Beach,” friend Mike Wylie said.

Wylie, a local businessman, said he was aware that Fischel was living with a longtime illness and that they embraced on Sunday, the final day of the music festival.

“When I hugged him, I knew I had to kiss him,” Wylie said. “I just knew it was going to be the last time I was going to see him.”

• VIDEO: See Josh Fischel busking in Long Beach in 2014

Fischel, a guitarist and vocalist, was himself a longtime member of Long Beach’s musicians’ community. He performed with Josh Fischel & The Fiction, and before that, as a member of the band Bargain Music.

• Related: How Josh Fischel planned Music Tastes Good 2016

“He was larger than life on stage and behind the scenes and he pulled off some of the most ambitious productions I’ve ever seen,” Justin Hectus, an event promoter who co-founded Summer and Music, a series of downtown Long Beach concert events.

“I expect that his presence will loom large and continue to inspire for many years to come,” Hectus continued.

Fischel was also friends with John Molina, chief financial officer for Molina Healthcare and a music fan.

“His death was tragic. Josh was one of the most sincere, passionate, artistic people I’ve ever met,” Molina said. “I am dumbstruck that he’s gone, but I’m so happy that he saw his dream come to fruition.”

• Related: “We’re really going for a block party vibe with the whole thing.” – Josh Fischel on MTG

Fischel has performed around the world, collaborating with bands such as Sublime, Pearl Jam, Lee Scratch Perry, Fishbone, Black Eyed Peas, Ikey Owens and others.

In addition to Music Tastes Good, he also organized RiotStage and Live After Five music events in Downtown Long Beach.

In 2015, Mayor Robert Garcia honored Fischel with a Go Long Beach Award for his work in giving back to the city.

“It’s a sad day for the city, but it’s also a sad day for people who cared about music and creativity in Long Beach,” Garcia said Thursday after learning of the news. “I hope the community rallies around all the things he loved and will keep it going.”

Condolences poured out on social media Thursday night, with many thanking Fischel for his contributions to the music scene in Long Beach.

Fischel is survived by his wife, Abbie.

Staff writer Tim Grobaty contributed to this report.