“Tell them that I said to tell everyone that they've ever met. About this band and about how much they like it. Tell them if they're going to buy concert tickets, to buy two at a time.”
December 6th, 2025, deep in the muggy, sandy dunes of barren middle of nowhere, Lake Wales, Florida, the purr of an Oklahoma freight train can be heard barreling through the fields of Orange Blossom Revue. Gaining speed, your ears might perk, and your body might prompt you to turn around because a fiddle is a comin’. By the time you’ve laid eyes on this force of nature, Johnny Mullenax is meeting you with the opening of “Home Sweet Home,” leaving you to wonder, “Who the Gat Daymn! fuck is Johnny Mullenax?”
Coming home from a third stint overseas, Johnny Mullenax band hit the 2026 Historic Morganton Festival stage, opening up night two, on route for their “This Joints For You Too” Tour. With many more dates to come, the funky country bluegrass band spends most of their days on the road with no hard end in sight as Johnny’s recognition continues to surge.
“We wake up. Let's say nine. I'm always fucking late to van call. So I usually get there about, I don't know… it's at 9:30. I'm there at 9:35. Everybody's like, Johnny, what the fuck? Basically, we just smoke some fucking weed, and get high as shit, and make jokes, and listen to music, and then drive all day, get to the venue, play as hard as we can, go to sleep, wake up, do it all over again.”
Mullenax travels with Tulsa music veterans, Andrew Bair (keys) and Paul Wilkes (bass), along with their two newest additions, Michael Schembre (fiddle of two years) and their young cat, Garrett Minor (drums as of 2026). Spending most of their time together, these jammy little rascals manage to maintain a dynamic that keeps each other grounded, in check, and pushing for more. That might also include a little pre-show French kiss on the cheek or, if you're lucky, on the mouth, on stage, between Mullenax and Schembre.
It’s the small moments like these that inspire the work of Mullenax. Pulling his inspiration from the little things, like smoking joints and fucking off, Johnny’s music is set to be universally relatable.
“I'm a firm believer in if you have the opportunity and the gift to play music, you have to spread it out as much as you can.“
With many dates ahead, including the Netherlands in November and a Key West kickoff to 2027, having a message that resonates with the masses serves its value alongside the grounding it takes to nurture a level-headed, relatable attitude. Despite his rapid career growth, Mullenax keeps his humility by facing the honest challenges of the current state of the music industry.
“It's one of those things where we're at a point touring now where we'll go play a festival for 5,000 people, you know, and be on top of the world, and then the next night we'll play for, like, 10 people, and make $80. So, there's a lot of highs and lows, and I think, for me, personally, you just can't let yourself focus too much on the highs, and focus too much on the lows. You know, you gotta just keep your head down, and do your job and hope for the best.”
Like most artists, it didn't happen as overnight as it seemed for Mullenax. The turning point in his career was the first time he bought merch, made possible by the start of “Bluegrass Brunch”. In 2021, Mullenax sparked a partnership with the famous Mercury Lounge in Tulsa, Oklahoma. What is now a special homecoming event for Johnny Mullenax Band was once a for-fun, “Johnny and friends” traditional bluegrass hangout. In the early days, you’d be able to spend your Sunday watching Mullenax play live while fucking around on stage, having anything from beer pong to stage joints. Now the brunch mimics a more traditional show with a setlist, structure, and planned special guests.
The start of Bluegrass Brunch helped Mullenax to cultivate a fan base and a strong network of industry friends. Mullenax was able to use the brunch as leverage to invite out-of-town musicians in to play, and eventually gained a management team. It is these connections that remain a core piece of Mullenax’s growth and music, shaping him as an artist.
“Surround yourself with creative people. Surround yourself with motivated people… because if you're hanging out with people that don't do shit, you're probably not going to either, you know. I would say that that's something that has helped me become a better artist. Just hanging out with people that are doing it, and trying to take inspiration from them, listening to what advice they have, and heeding it.”
When first approached about starting the Bluegrass Brunch, Mullenax did not think that it would work. The silly hang out has now become a Tulsa staple and the origin of Mullenax’s current success. But as they say (far too much), “with great success comes great responsibility,” and that is just that with the rise of Mullenax. The more you grow in music, the more responsibility you take on. Not so famously quoted in an article written some time ago by not Noisy City Media, Johnny says, “I'm gonna convince myself that it's worth it for the rest of my life…You'd be surprised what you can fucking endure if you're like, ‘it's worth it.”
Mullenax’s journey to success has taken him many places and challenged the endurance that he has for the love of music. He has spent a big part of his life, before Johnny Mullenax Band, touring with other artists, sneaking into clubs underage, encountering issues with his asshole hours before a show, and sleeping in strange places, like bass cases and church pews with only clothes as a blanket, all for the sake of making it one day.
“I've always had that in me…I've always wanted to do it, and I'm stoked that I'm doing it now. My only regret is that I didn't start earlier.”
While his demeanor may come off as a pothead who is just a silly guy, the discipline and love Mullenax has for music show in his dynamic with his bandmates, his words about his work, and his dedication to making it happen. As a full-time artist since he was 18, and a musician since he was five, Mullenax’s words to the people who don’t believe in him are to “Fuck off”.
“I'm following my dream, and it's all I've ever wanted to do. A lot of people that say things like that are not following their dream, and I think that that's worth something.”
Johnny Mullenax is a name to remember and one I don’t think I’d ever forget. There was no moment quite like the first time I turned around to “Home Sweet Home” in bumfuck nowhere, Florida. Mullenax holds nothing but a long, promising career in the palm of his hands. If you’ve come this far and are still thinking, “Who the Gat Daymn! Fuck is Johnny Mother Fucking Mullenax”, well, you might just have to purchase a ticket on two and find out for yourself.
To be continued…
To watch Johnny Mullenax live, check out the Mercury Lounge Facebook livestreams on Sundays when he’s in town!
