Justin Utley

Unabashedly charming and without parallel, Justin Utley is one of the
most talented individuals we've ever met. - Talking About TV Show, QPTV Time Warner

Who's Next: Justin Utley, a rising star! - NEXT Magazine: Who’s Next!

Strong and honest. This is a muscular, polished collection of songs that demand attention. - Queer-iv

His patented blend of Alt-Rock, Country, Pop, and a little bit of everything else he can pack into a track, come across seamlessly and without effort .. in a manner that transcends boundaries. - Pop, Rinse, Repeat.

With his earnest smile and hunky sex-appeal, as marvelously talented as Utley is, he’s equally as accessible and personable.
All the things one looks for in a role-model fit to represent the diversely rich gay community.

- JC Alvarez, Nightlife Editor - Edge Magazine

Justin Utley is incredibly talented. An engaging, entertaining performer and an absolute crowd pleaser.
-Davis Mallory, Music Columnist - MTV’s After Elton.com

The interview with him was our largest radio audience of the year. - SiriusXM Radio: The Six Pack

#4: Justin Utley’s impressive new album - The Advocate

tried and tried to meet up with Justin Utley in person over Pride Weekend. He had just performed in San Francisco on Friday night – where he reprised his role as Tommy Dautry in the off-Broadway show “OUR COUNTRY.” Alas, after I juggled house guests and Pride volunteer activities, we decided to chat by phone today – after his return to New York. Our talk only made me wish I had 86'd our guests and hung out with him over coffee.

Justin began his career as a Mormon-Contemporary singer/songwriter and played to almost exclusively religious audiences. By the late 1990s, he was also grappling with his sexuality. He had entered ex-gay therapy in the Mormon Church and later self ex-communicated himself from the church.

Now living in New York, Justin has moved onward and upward and has a new album, Nothing This Real, coming out later this summer. “Stand For Something,” a single that is included on the album, was voted best country folk song by the LGBT Academy of Recording Arts in 2010. While his music definitely has a country edge, he describes his sound as a “blend of pop, rock, alt and country.”

“With all the great things that have been happening to me, my new album is much more about the acceptance I have found in the past few years than my early music was,” Utley says. “The new album is more honest and the music plays off emotions versus specifics so that larger audiences will appreciate it.”

Justin performed in the religious play “It’s a Small World” when he was in grade school and his mom, seeing his talent, auditioned him for other shows. He started playing the piano when he was in junior high. He spent much of his early career writing and performing religious music, both as a solo performer and as part of a Christian band.

It was as he became a teenager that he started to sense he was different.

“I was affected by what the Mormon Church calls ‘same-sex attraction.’ When he was 24, at the advice of his Bishop, he enrolled into Evergreen, an ex-gay group run by the church. “It was like AA, but because being gay is considered a disease or disorder, the group was reparative. The group actually gave me a way to talk openly about being gay and introduced me to other people like me.”

In fact, Justin told Queerty last year that the program was a cruising ground where members jerked off together. Meanwhile, Justin’s one-on-one therapist had convinced him that he was sexually molested as a child.

“My family went on a ‘witch hunt’ to find out who it was,” he says. His mother was especially alarmed, and his father was confused that he had done something. They soon realized that the ‘diagnosis’ was crap.

Eight months into the program, he felt nothing was happening to change his feelings. Another participant had been in the group for 10 years with no progress.

“The staff told me that the program only had a .01% success rate. Only a .01% success rate!,” he remembers. The revelation caused him to question the entire process. He had also met a boyfriend, Brent, and he left the program after two years of the damaging therapy.

He started working at a local credit union as he continued his coming out process. As an employee, he was told they wouldn’t have hired him if they had known he was gay. In fact, they had denied his job to a better candidate because she had an HRC sticker on her car when she interviewed. But happily, he also came to the conclusion that nothing was wrong with him.

Then, disaster struck. 6-months after they left Evergreen, Brent died of a heart attack. “The Bishop told me that God took my boyfriend because he was gay,” he says with sadness in his voice. Justin soon thereafter officially resigned from the church – in what the church calls a self ex-communication.

His mom has been supportive from the start about his sexuality, but his dad has taken a bit longer. His father has remained a devout Mormon and its in his church record that his father has two wives “promised to him in the next life.” Although Justin’s parents are not together, his father is married to both his mom and a new wife. Justin tells me that polygamy is still considered an “eternal principle” by the mainstream church – although no one ever discusses it. Silence makes a good PR campaign as the church continues to fund “traditional marriage” campaigns.

With all of this behind him, his music career started to gain momentum. He was invited to sing for the 2002 Olympics in Utah, where he performed for the IOC receptions during opening and closing ceremonies. Utley next started work on Runaway, his 2005 solo recording debut. He says much of this early music reflected the confusion and identity issues he was dealing with at the time.

His talent led to frequent flights to New York and Pride Festival performances all over the world. He moved to New York in 2005 where he still works full time at a bank. He has no regrets about juggling a double career. “Hey, the income definitely allows me to pursue whatever I want.” And his boyfriend, Joe, has been nothing but supportive about Justin’s music.

On top of his busy life, Utley is a staunch gay equality supporter. He became more involved when his step-family fought for the passage of Prop 8 in California (they live there). He says they would have mortgaged their home to pass it if they had to. He put many hours into campaigning against the anti-gay law.

With all of this experience behind him, he is ready for the drop of his new album this August. And hopefully new fans will embrace his good looks and incredible voice.

Want to hear more of Justin? Please be sure to pre-order Nothing This Real at his site.

As we finished our conversation, Justin reminded me of the inspiration behind his singing and songwriting: “Yes, my music has messages about where I’m from. But it is also about my other passion – to make a statement beyond performing.”

And did I mention he is pretty fucking hot?

If you live in San Diego, you can see Justin perform live at Pride on July 17. You can get details of his appearance at the San Diego Pride site.

Be sure to follow Justin on Twitter, Facebook and check out his site here. You won’t be disappointed – so listen and see the hottie below… - DanNation.org

Inspiring! Takes the listener on a journey. - Out Front Colorado

There’s a pure and genuine sincerity in singer/songwriter Justin Utley’s approach to his music. It even translates into how he openly and honestly chooses to live his life. While most other contemporary pop artist conform to the expected rhythm and grind of overly-produced and popularized dance tunes, Utley cuts more cleanly to authentic guitar-driven songs with deep narratives running through his profound lyrics. - JC Alvarez - The Edge

Justin's songs are smart and personal, a great combination. Justin really brings it home. - Howard - Soundtrack To My Day

Country music loves a compelling success story—as evidenced by Darius Rucker and Melissa Etheridge—and Justin Utley, a rising star who gave up everything, just may be that story. - Derrick Reaves, NEXT Magazine

Totally blew me away. Entertaining & talented. This guy ROCKS. - "Psycho" Bob, KAJG Radio Show

One of the hottest and most talented men working in the music scene. He's one to watch! - Cashetta, NYC Hostess Dejour

Born to be a rockstar. Blends singer/songwriter sensitivity with a rock attitude. - J. Poet, PlanetOut

Exceptional songwriting... Outstanding and ground-breaking music. This is what you've been looking for. - WLOB/WBCQ Good Morning Maine

Looks, talent and a voice to die for! After that performance, New York City will never be the same! - Scott Nevins - Host of Scott Nevins Variety Hour

It is so refreshing to hear such great talent from a strong, forward-thinking, and proudly out music artist like Justin Utley. Not only was he one of our best performers at Wichita Pride this year, he was funny, sincere, and a fantastic person to work with. We already have a demand to bring him back next year! - Albert Pearce - President, Wichita Pride

Justin is an incredibly talented performer and a definite crowd pleaser. We were so happy to have him be a part of PrideFest 2010! - Ed Kammerer - Entertainment Director, Rhode Island Pridefest