Johnny Mullenax

Johnny Mullenax, a Tulsa native, grew up in a musical family. He started playing the guitar at age 5. In his teens, he followed his family to the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. In typical Johnny fashion, he showed up with just a guitar and ended up sleeping in a standup bass case. At 18, he used a friend’s ID to get into a club where he was part of a live hip hop band backing rappers. According to Johnny, “Life is too short to play one style of music, and if you have an opportunity to try something different then you should give it a shot.”

Claiming wide-ranging influences from AC/DC and The Ramones to John Coltrane and Parliament, Johnny’s style is reminiscent of Billy Strings — a sound he calls a funky country bluegrass good time for working folks.

Before COVID, Johnny went out on the road with fellow Okie TJ McFarland (Tennessee Jet) and started connecting to a network of other touring musicians. He always wanted to start his own project, and after playing as a sideman for seven years with several bands, he finally took that leap.