cryptograss happenings

Cryptograsser Justin Holmes to play four shows for Colorado blockchain season, appear at EthDenver 2025 opening with star-studded band in tow

Feb 18, 2025

Cryptograss founding band "Justin Holmes and The Immutable String Band" has announced a five-show run coinciding with ETHDenver 2025, starting in Boulder on Feb 22nd and wrapping at the Breckenridge Retreat on March 5.

The band will also make a special appearance at the opening of EthDenver 2025 on Feb 27th alongside "Song a Day" star Jonathan Mann, and perennial multi-instrumentalist collaborator Shaka Lei Kaumaka.

Show Times

  • Sat Feb 22, 7:00PM GFEL (The Global Forum on Ethereum Localism) at The Riverside Boulder, CO
  • Wed Feb 26, 4:00 PM Allo DAO summoning - ticketed event at private location - contact Allo DAO for tickets
  • Thu Feb 27, 9:30 AM EthDenver 2025 Opening - The National Western Stock Show Denver, CO
  • Thu Feb 27, 4:00 PM Schelling Point - Number 38 Denver, CO
  • Sat Mar 1, 2:00 PM OSO Stage at ETHDenver The National Western Stock Show Denver, CO
  • Wed Mar 5, 7:30PM GRASSBurn private event - join our discord for details, Breckenridge CO

Justin Holmes and the Immutable String Band

Passionately preserving the art of iteration, documenting the existence, transmission, and importance of traditional music to the blockchain, securing the sustainability of uncensored art created by people together in the moment, future-proofing the nature of bluegrass by forging pathways and tools for musicians and audiences to fairly exchange resources, We are Cryptograss.

Justin Holmes and the Immutable String Band are Band 0, pickin’ these ideas from the stage and committing them to the blockchain.

Every gathering, whether a live show or recording session, is a process of instantiation - a new instance of Band, each a distinct and complete creation, emitting a unique setlist, with arrangements and effects often chosen in the moment.

Committing these instances by memorializing the data of the exchange as the merchandise, confirms the healing powers of collective participation and improvisation, rooted in the traditions of bluegrass music, and directly supports musicians and audiences.

Keeping free music safe from IP, while funding the writers and iterators of uncensored art, motivates bluegrassers to become a band of coders building bluegrass history with the immutability of the blockchain, so it may not only not be lost, but insures the traditions positively pervade into the future.

With thousands of published contributions to open source cryptography and web codebases, Justin was until recently, better known as a software engineer than a musician.

Justin's music blends bluegrass, old-time, and traditional music from around the world, with lyrics about cryptography, privacy, artificial intelligence, and the evolution of the internet, while actively engaging in the revolution of blockchain tech.

Backing Holmes for the run of shows will be:

  • On bass and dobro, St. Petersburg funk regular Skyler Golden, who has played two tours with the band and produced some of its studio material
  • On bass and mandolin, East Nashville stalwart Jake Stargel, who engineered the band's hit record "Vowel Sounds" as well as their upcoming album, 4masks
  • On mandolin, Kyle Bestape, frequent crypto speaker and Network States scholar

And two icons of the Colorado country and bluegrass scenes:

  • On fiddle, Laura Quam, who joined the band for their 2024 Colorado run
  • On banjo, Chris "C-Bob" Elliott, who is squeezing in the appearances during a tour break of his rising-star band Chain Station.