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.