Johnny Mullenax

Johnny Mullenax, a 27-year-old Tulsa native, grew up in a musical family. He started playing the guitar at age 5, when his mom Janey, who played in a 50’s rock-and-roll cover band, put him on stage to play the Star-Spangled Banner at a 4th of July show. In his teens, he followed his family to the Walnut Valley Festival and Flat-Picking Championship in Winfield, Kansas. In typical Johnny fashion, he showed up with just a guitar and ended up sleeping in a standup base case.

While attending an arts magnet high school in Tulsa, Johnny met other kids from musical families, who he still regularly plays with. They started a jazz band that played a local BBQ joint every Friday night. 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 cut your teeth on something else, 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 five years with several bands, he finally took that leap.

Johnny started a Sunday Bluegrass Brunch residency at Tulsa’s famed Mercury Lounge in January 2021, and it has become a beacon for musicians and fans alike. It’s an amalgam of bluegrass standards, jam band vibes, and a showcase of musicianship from Mullenax’s regular sidemen: flatpicking champion, Thomas Trapp; Jason Boland & The Stragglers drummer, Jake Lynn; and hired gun on upright bass, Paul Wilkes. He’s regularly joined by former and current members of Jason Boland & The Stragglers, Roger Ray on dobro and Andrew Bair on keys. A host of fiddle, pedal steel, clarinet, washboard and even spoons players sit in weekly, and during the second set he brings up musician friends in the audience to step in or sing a tune of their own . Fans flock to “Team Drink”—a toast Johnny repeats during the show with the reminder, “We’re all on the same team.” Another highlight of Brunch is when Johnny and Thomas go “hole to hole,” an improvised guitar face-off that’s more collaborative than competitive. And that’s really what Johnny’s music is all about.

“My whole musical career, I have wanted to study music. Everyone I play with has also studied a lot of music. That’s the draw for everyone who plays in the band--we’re bringing the heat every single time.” said Mullenax.

Just know this. If you come to a show, everyone who wants to get down is welcome and included. And you better be ready to party.

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