Wichita Mountain Bluegrass was formed in January of 2004, by Robert and Elana Johnston. Robert plays lead guitar, lead and harmony vocals. Elana plays bass, lead and harmony vocals.

Our band consists of:

Bob Johnston - Robert’s Father - rhythm guitar and lead/harmony vocals

David Johnston - Robert’s Brother - banjo and bass vocals

Betty Callen - Elana’s mother - autoharp and harmony vocals

Our band formed to preserve and promote traditional bluegrass and bluegrass gospel music. We have played for bluegrass festivals, church events, business and civic organizations, and family reunions. We have performed across Oklahoma and Texas. This year, we will perform in seven states, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arkansas, Missouri, and Iowa.

This year we were honored to play at the State Fair of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. We enjoyed performing greatly. We also promoted our own festival this year in Hobart Oklahoma. We hosted: Glen Bonham and The Stephens Boys, From the Heartland, Dyson Family, Triple L, Pecos Valley, The Hunt Family. We had a great turn-out and lots of compliments of how well the festival turned out and that the music was top notch.

We are a family band with strong Christian values. We hope you find our music enjoyable and our shows entertaining. We would love to share our music with you.

Robert began playing guitar at age 14. His dad, Bob, taught him basic chords and rhythm. From there, Robert learned to play lead by practicing for hours a day. Robert lives for bluegrass music and enjoys playing the mandolin and bass.

Elana started singing when she was 5 years old. She was in a family band with her mother and father, Ned and Betty Callen. She sang in the church choir for several years. Elana loves to sing bluegrass and gospel music.

Bob began playing the guitar at age 12. He played country and western music and then went to a bluegrass festival in 1973. He now plays nothing but traditional, hard drivin’ bluegrass.

David started playing banjo when he was 15 years old. No one in the family knew how to play the banjo, so David taught himself. He listened to Earl Scruggs records and studied his banjo book. He loves to play hard drivin’ traditional bluegrass tunes.

Thirty years ago, Betty started playing the autoharp. She decided to play the mandolin, then the guitar. She ended up playing the autoharp, which was her favorite. She played in the Callen Family Band with Ned and Elana. Her favorite songs are bluegrass gospel tunes.