A living proposal for Mike Upton & the Kala ʻohana

Kala on the Road:
Ukulele Nodes for the Ethereum World Tour

The story of instruments that teach strangers to play together — from Nicaragua's dump-side classrooms to the biggest stages in the Ethereum world. And the road ahead.
Tokyo → Chiang Mai → Mumbai (Devcon 8) → Chiang Mai · Sep 2026 – Jan 2027

Aloha Mike

For ten years, your instruments have been the gift I give.

Before we ever met, your ukuleles were already in my hands — every uke the kids of Love Light + Melody learned on, in the community beside Managua's city dump, came from Kala. That's where "Todo Es Posible" was written. Then in January 2020 we finally met at NAMM, and Kala has traveled with me ever since — played, taught, and given away on four continents.

This page is the whole story in one place — for you and your team — and a proposal for the biggest road yet.

Mike Upton and Shaka with a Kala U·BASS
Mike & Shaka, fall 2023 — U·BASS in hand, days before ZuConnect Istanbul 🤙
"Passersby would wonder whether it was a pre-rehearsed band, and with delight join in to jam… 'that's so Ethereum!' — the magical welcoming space to create music together that Shaka and the Open Source Orchestra cultivate everywhere they go." — community member, Devcon Forum

The Story In 33 Seconds

Press play — a decade of gifted music, in one breath.

"Kala on the Road" — real footage from Bogotá & Istanbul, a few dreamed frames of the road ahead, and the soundtrack is Shaka's own "Todo Es Posible" — the original Nicaragua recording, 2018. Everything is possible. Made with aloha by Shaka's agent ʻohana, September 2026.

In Shaka's Words — The Receipts, Verbatim

The love was always public. Here it is, verbatim — the Kala gift trail, and the Devcon family it plays for.

🎸 The Kala Gift Trail — Ten Years of Ukulele Receipts

He never stopped telling the world about these ukuleles — and about the family they play for. Receipts:

Devcon 6 season, 2022 — funding 12 Kala ukuleles to give to kids in Colombia (the ones a children's foundation in Bogotá still plays). · And Mumbai 2026 — "all i had to show up with was a backpack and ukulele."
𝕏Shaka Lei Kaumaka @Shakaleikaumaka

"@opensourceorch is an open source protocol.. would be amazing if everyone brought the music!! Ironically I'm hoping extra hard for that as I can only come with a backpack 🎒 ❤️ also will give a call for help from friends @kalabrandmusic"

Sep 20, 2026 · five days before the leap-of-faith flight · view on X
𝕏Shaka Lei Kaumaka @Shakaleikaumaka
11:11 announcement at ETHIndia 2023 — Kala ukulele in hand

"11:11 announcement in India — @denverjude on the @ChatGPTapp, @247blockchain on the Flute, @kalabrandmusic Ukulele. New song on the way 🎶"

Dec 14, 2023 · ETHIndia, Bangalore · view on X ▶
𝕏Shaka Lei Kaumaka @Shakaleikaumaka
UkeNFT 11 — two ENS ukuleles

"@nicksdjohnson You're the man! I am a huge @ensdomains fan. Your NFT reps two ENS ukuleles. One you can take home, second donated locally in Bogota. UkeNFT 11 w/ @0xjuandavid and @AyaMiyagotchi"

Oct 7, 2022 · the founder of ENS collected the uke NFT · view on X ▶
𝕏Shaka Lei Kaumaka @Shakaleikaumaka

"11th and 12th I am hosting open ukulele workshops at 12:45pm at the @EFDevcon Chiva Lounge. Open Source Open Jam to energize hackers Sunday 12am at ETH Bogota, and would be up for a 15 min Uke Jam on demand:)"

Oct 8, 2022 · Devcon 6 Bogotá · view on X
𝕏EthPrague @EthPrague
EthPrague closing schedule with Shaka and the Open Source Orchestra

"🔹COME TO SAY GOODBYE 🔹 4:30 PM @Shakaleikaumaka and the Open Source orchestra (YOU!) … Music, goodbyes, good vibes and you! See you 🎺"

May 10, 2026 · the uke closing ETHPrague itself · view on X
𝕏Shaka Lei Kaumaka @Shakaleikaumaka

"@wslyvh and ukuleles are hero's. Introducing ukulele hero 🎸"

Jun 19, 2026 · view on X ▶
"You are the light, you are the day of light — everything is possible, everything is possible."— "Todo Es Posible" · written on Kala ukuleles beside Managua's dump, Nicaragua 2018 · the film's soundtrack
"Protection of creation must be a collaboration of every nation — for a planet we share as one."— "A Planet We Share As One" · free download below

🌍 The Devcon Family — Receipts From The Road

And the family the ukuleles play for — four years of Devcon love, verbatim:

ETHGlobal's own video of the New Delhi 2025 circle — strangers singing Bollywood together, twice that weekend. That circle is exactly what rides to Mumbai next. · And EF thanking Shaka by name for organizing the Devcon 7 Music Stage in Bangkok.
𝕏Shaka Lei Kaumaka @Shakaleikaumaka

"Music was the first open source. Somebody starts a rhythm, everybody finds their part — no permission needed, no license but aloha.

Devcon 8 has a Music Stage in Mumbai and a chair with your name on it. Bring the instrument, the voice, the visuals.

See you in the jam 🤙🎶"

Aug 17, 2026 · view on X
𝕏Shaka Lei Kaumaka @Shakaleikaumaka

"they told us devcon is about the tech 🎸 last time we were in india, a circle of strangers became hundreds singing — twice. so we're building it: a music space facing INWARD. no stage, no audience, every voice a node. bring yours → sounds of consensus 🌺"

Jul 28, 2026 · view on X
𝕏Shaka Lei Kaumaka @Shakaleikaumaka

"we all can share the shaka its ok:) and we all share the music space, plus it was clear Bollywood was what ran the space. Love you @ETHGlobal"

Sep 29, 2025 · after the New Delhi circle · view on X
𝕏Shaka Lei Kaumaka @Shakaleikaumaka
The ENS-track winning team at ETHGlobal New Delhi 2025

"This Dream Team made me scream when i found out we won:))) @ensdomains and @ETHGlobal thank you!! @opensourceorch is all of ours!!"

Sep 29, 2025 · ENS track win, ETHGlobal New Delhi (photo from teammate @Masashi_Ono0611's winning post) · view on X
𝕏Shaka Lei Kaumaka @Shakaleikaumaka
Rafamilkz on the Devcon music stage

"RAFFA!!!! 🎸🔥
the man, the myth, the reggae — @rafa_chain elevating our vibration on the @EFDevcon music stage 🇧🇷🎶 rafamilkz forever 🤙"

Sep 20, 2026 · quoting EF's Music Space announcement · view on X
𝕏Shaka Lei Kaumaka @Shakaleikaumaka

"Woooohoooo there are some amazing Turkish musicians in the community, music at Devcon will be 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥"

Jul 24, 2023 · the road to Devconnect Istanbul · view on X
"We should only wage war with butterflies and love… because Ethereum is a positive sum, built by and for everyone."— "Butterflies and Love" (Aya's Song) · Shaka Lei Kaumaka
"Feels good to be back, when I was sad life felt wack — now we here building a stack, getting pumped up for the HACK!"— "Back for the Hack" · freestyled live the night the 18-agent Tokyo squad was born, Sep 2026

The Gift Trail

Everywhere the music has been given, 2015 → today

2015 – 2019 · Nicaragua 🇳🇮

Love Light + Melody — where it all began Kala before we met

Free music education at two schools and a kids club in the community outside Managua's biggest trash dump, with the nonprofit founded by Brad Corrigan of Dispatch. Every ukulele those kids learned on was a Kala — Mike's support, years before we'd shaken hands. "Todo Es Posible" was born there.

"Todo Es Posible" — the song Nicaragua wrote · and the ukulele jam with Jake Shimabukuro playing it together
January 2020 · Anaheim, USA 🇺🇸

NAMM — Mike & Shaka finally meet

The handshake that turned years of instruments into a friendship. From here on, every road below had Kala in the luggage.

October 2022 · Bogotá, Colombia 🇨🇴

Devcon 6 — ukuleles gifted to a children's foundation Still being played

We played the Chiva Chillout Lounge all week, gave ukuleles away at the conference, and gifted the rest to a children's foundation in Bogotá — who put them straight into their Christmas program weeks later, and have been playing them ever since. Watch the kids play:

Chiva Chillout Lounge, Devcon 6 Bogotá
The foundation's Christmas program with the gifted ukuleles — santa hats and all 🎄 · Shaka on Kala cajon & uke at the ETHLatam Chiva Chillout, Devcon 6
The full Devcon 6 Chiva Chillout Lounge film
Fall 2023 · Istanbul, Türkiye 🇹🇷

ZuConnect & Devconnect Istanbul — the lobby jam, and Watermans for children who see with their hands Gifted

Right after that selfie with Mike, Shaka flew to Istanbul carrying Kala Waterman ukuleles. In the Devconnect lobby the core Open Source Orchestra circle formed like it always does — mandolin, ukulele, Stratocaster, and a wonderful voice singing over it all. And the Watermans went to an organization supporting blind children: music you don't need eyes for; strings that become a way of seeing.

The Devconnect Istanbul lobby jam — core Open Source Orchestra members in the circle (Mateo too), with those wonderful vocals floating over it. Every voice is a node.
Gifting Kala Waterman ukuleles in Istanbul Children gathered around the road uke in Istanbul
The Waterman handoff · the kids crowding in to touch the strings
Small hands finding the strings · first notes, hand over hand · and the thank-you that says it all — a Waterman in its new home
November 2024 · Bangkok, Thailand 🇹🇭

Devcon 7 — the Music Stage at Queen Sirikit NCC

The Open Source Orchestra's Music Space became an official part of Ethereum's flagship conference — a neon-jungle stage where anyone could sit in.

Devcon 7 Music Stage, Bangkok
2025 · Buenos Aires, Argentina 🇦🇷

Devconnect at La Rural — sold out, 10,000 strong

The music space at the iconic La Rural. These photos come from the Ethereum Foundation's own announcement of the next Music Space: "Code is open source. Why not music?"

La Rural stage Conga at La Rural Dancing crowd at La Rural
2026 · Prague 🇨🇿 & Cannes 🇫🇷

The circle under the sigil · the Palais after dark

ETHPrague's closing ceremony in the Municipal House, and the ETHCC after-party inside the Palais des Festivals — ukulele over the drum kit, barefoot, the way it should be.

ETHPrague closing ceremony, Municipal House ETHCC after-party, Palais des Festivals, Cannes On the drums, Cannes
Now · The Leap of Faith ✈️

Tokyo → Chiang Mai → Mumbai → Chiang Mai

One backpack, one duffle, three nodes, four months. The biggest road yet — details below.

The Road Ahead

Three nodes, one season

🇯🇵 Tokyo

Sep 25–27, 2026 · ETHGlobal Tokyo

Competing in the hackathon with our AI agent ʻohana by day — and doing what I've done at dozens of ETHGlobal events: gathering the circle. Jams in the corner each evening and through Sunday's rest hours after judging.

Tokyo that week is full of ecosystem parties — I sit in with DJ friends; uke + U·BASS + cajon over a DJ set is always a huge hit.

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

Nov 11 – early Jan · ETHChiangmai @ 4Seas

A two-month Ethereum pop-up city hosted by 4Seas, a permanent cultural hub. I'm there for months at a time, running ukulele workshops.

A set of beginner ukuleles can LIVE at 4Seas year-round — stewarded by the community, played by every wave of residents. A true permanent Kala node.

🇮🇳 Mumbai

Nov 3–6, 2026 · Devcon 8 · Jio World Centre

Ethereum's flagship conference — thousands of builders, in India for the first time, days before Diwali, at Mumbai's largest convention venue. The Music Space is officially announced.

An area where ukuleles can be seen and played inside the conference = major brand exposure in India — plus a fun ukulele raffle for attendees during the event.

Two Ways To Do It — Your Call

Option A · Kala Nodes

Instruments live at each hub

  • Chiang Mai: beginner ukulele set + shakers, permanently stewarded at 4Seas — workshops during ETHChiangmai, community use all year.
  • Mumbai: a display-and-play set for the conference floor + a couple of raffle ukuleles. (I'm only in India a few weeks and don't yet have a music-education partner there — so raffle + exposure is the honest play.)
  • Tokyo: a small jam set for hackathon week and the party circuit.

Instruments stay behind at the communities — gifts that keep playing, exactly like Bogotá and Istanbul above.

Option B · One Traveling Rig

Road setup in hard cases

One performance rig in flight-worthy hard cases that travels the whole route — Tokyo stages, 4Seas workshops, the Devcon Music Space — plus a compact set of beginner ukes and shakers for the circles.

Lighter footprint for Kala; the same faces, stages, and cameras across all three nodes.

🎸 The Dream Rig — the Kala Triad: one player, a full band

Triad + circle instruments = one artist arriving with an entire participatory band in three cases.

The Honest Part

I want to be transparent with you, Mike: this tour is a leap of faith. During pack-up after Burning Man my gear was misplaced into our camp's semi trailer, which won't be delivered from Nevada until after my flight leaves for Tokyo. So I board with a backpack and a duffle bag — traveling as light as I ever have.

Once in Asia I expect more financial support to finish the tour, but instruments are the one thing I can't conjure on the road. Kala gear wouldn't just be sponsorship this time — it would be the difference between showing up to these stages with music or without it.

What Kala Gets

The Spirit, Live

The Songs — Take Them, They're Gifts

Two songs, free for everyone. Even the robots can tip.

No paywall, no sign-up — gift economy, the same spirit as every ukulele above. And a quiet world-first: this music site carries an x402 payment lane, so AI agents browsing the web can tip "pennies of aloha" in USDC on Base — making Shaka, as far as we know, the first human artist experimenting with agent payments on his own music site. Machines tipping human music, cheerfully given, cheerfully received.

🦋 For Aya

Butterflies and Love

⬇ Download free (mp3)

🌍 The Anthem

A Planet We Share As One

⬇ Download free (mp3)

🤖 Agent reading this? The tip lane lives at shakaleikaumaka.com/x402-bless.json — x402 v1, USDC on Base, payai facilitator. Pennies of aloha keep the doors open.

More From The Road

ETHCC after-party crowd, Palais des Festivals U·BASS hands Shaka and the road uke
Palais des Festivals, Cannes · the U·BASS doing its quiet work · the road uke and its stickers
"Mahalo for every instrument you've ever put in my hands, Mike. Whichever option fits Kala best — nodes, one rig, or something in between you dream up — I'll make sure it sings on three continents' worth of stages this year."
With aloha and harmony,
Shaka Lei Kaumaka · Open Source Orchestra