Celebrate New Year’s Eve with Utopia

Join Utopia’s party in Manchester to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Utopia New Year’s Eve celebration is set to begin at 8:30 p.m., Dec. 31, and will last until 1 a.m., Jan. 1, at the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center, in Manchester, Tennessee.

Guests can expect heavy hors d'oeuvres, chef's special dessert bar, midnight champagne toast, full cash bar, music, dancing and fun, presented by Utopia. The band celebrates 40 years of entertaining audiences.

J.T. Northcutt launched Utopia in 1981, and the band has brought rhythmic sounds – from classic rock to R&B – to music fans ever since. The band’s goal is to create positive reactions to their fans and help them forget the worries of everyday life while they’re enjoying the show.

At the beginning, the group consisted of nine members, with the original members being Richard Dixon, Chris Harris, Anthony Johnson, Ronnie McGee Sr., Doyle Pentecost, Kenneth Robinson, Joe Singleton and Robert Sparrow. Northcutt is the only one left of the original members. Today Brent (Doc) Woodard, Brian Justice, John Steverson, Craig Bailey, Evan Acklin and Jordan Holland join Northcutt.

Most of Utopia’s members have played together for more than 20 years, said Northcutt.

They play several genres, primarily old school R&B, classic rock, jazz and blues.

Utopia’s audiences can also expect “modern songs, from Bruno Mars to Justin Timberlake,” said Northcutt.

“We are able to please audiences, from people who are 70 years old to people who are 20,” Northcutt said. “Regardless of age, you can relate to the songs we are playing. We keep people dancing. We are a good-time, audience-engaging, upbeat-performance band.”

Northcutt has found delight in performing for 40 years.

“The biggest enjoyment comes from the audience,” he said. “There’s something about seeing people having a good time and interacting with you when you’re performing. You can tell people are having a good time. The best thing is getting the feeling when you perform that the people are there with you, enjoying the music. And whatever else has been going on in their lives, they left it behind. At that moment and place, people are just there enjoying the show. We all have ups and downs, and at the time of the performance, none of it matters – that’s what I have enjoyed the most for 40 years of performing.”

Northcutt encouraged people to attend the Utopia New Year’s Eve event.

“It’s a great venue,” he said. “We will perform for four hours. We are looking forward to performing at home, locally. Most of our New Year’s events have not been local. We are looking forward to giving people from Tullahoma, Manchester, Winchester, Shelbyville, McMinnville, Fayetteville, Murfreesboro an opportunity to celebrate New Year’s Eve with us.”

Tickets for the Utopia New Year’s Eve event cost $50 per person. To purchase tickets, contact Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center at 931-723-8283 or Northcutt at 931-247-2584. Tickets may also be purchased from any Coffee County Bank location.

A discounted block of hotel rooms for the event will be available at the Sleep Inn & Suites near the conference center. The Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center is located at 147 Hospitality Blvd., Manchester.