Yardbird Suite Announces Todd Crawshaw as Executive Director

The Yardbird Suite will welcome Todd Crawshaw as the Executive Director of Edmonton Jazz Society, the not-for-profit volunteer-driven organization overseeing the operations of Yardbird Suite, Edmonton's premier jazz venue established in 1957.

For the last 20 years, Mr. Crawshaw has been in cultural leadership roles including at the Royal Alberta Museum; CKUA Radio; and as Executive Director for the Rock and Roll Society of Edmonton producing a classic rock fest as well as directing a children's music education charity.

Mr. Crawshaw has been a marketing instructor in MacEwan's Arts and Cultural Management Program and during the recent pandemic shutdowns created an online radio station called Big E Radio (bigeradio.com), to give his friends in performance and promotion a reason to keep going while they couldn't gig. He has built a jazz/soul/fusion show each Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. called Fuse 'n Flow.

"I'm the kind of director who builds from strengths, and I see myriad strengths at EJS and Yardbird Suite," says Mr. Crawshaw. "This place would not soon be celebrating 65 years of operation if it wasn't doing a lot right. I want to contribute in helping create richer & rewarding experiences for volunteers, patrons, and artists." Online Streaming Performances This Month Curated by Edmonton musicians Nicolás Arnáez, Dave Babcock, Julie King, Mboya Nicholson, Stephanie Urquhart, Peter Zawalski, all Yardbird Suite online performances are AHS-approved with stringent safety protocols in place for artists and sound technicians. Memberships and passes are available on their website at www.yardbirdsuite.com