Mac Powell Helps Out Casting Crowns On Lead Vocals Amidst Mark Hall's Recovery

Former Third Day vocalist Mac Powell joined fellow Atlanta group Casting Crowns on stage this week to help out vocally. Crowns' lead singer Mark Hall recently underwent surgery on his vocal chords, which has left him needing to not put so much strain on his voice while he continues to heal.

Earlier this week, Hall posted on his personal Instagram feed a photo of him with Powell, with the caption:  "Big thanks to a hero and a friend, @macpowell for standing with me and singing my songs this week as I wait for my voice to heal. Please keep praying for me, friends."

Due to Hall's vocal troubles, the band had to cancel a string of dates in December. A notice on the website for the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, CA had this to say about the December 4th cancellation:

"PLEASE NOTE: Regrettably, Casting Crowns must cancel their seven West Coast December Christmas concerts because of a significant health matter with lead singer Mark Hall. The December 4 Oakland date is included with the cancelled cities. Mark is temporarily unable to sing due to a vocal health issue. Refunds available at original point of purchase. Tickets purchased through Ticketmaster are automatically refunded.”

MercuryNews.com reported on the Oakland cancellation specifically last month, and included a special message from Hall regarding his condition:

“I’ve had some struggles with my voice in the last several weeks. I’ve been seeing some doctors and spent some time in Nashville with some of the top doctors in the field. It is nothing that can’t be cured and I can’t recover from, but the only thing I can do right now is rest & be quiet.

I don’t think this could come at a worse time. The band, crew and I, were all so excited about being a part of Christmas with so many families. Families, I know, only have so much time in the Christmas season. You guys chose to spend a night with us and that’s a big deal. The fact that we can’t make that happen hurts my heart, and I’m really sorry. There are so many people that have worked so hard to get the tour to this point, and I feel I’m the reason that it can’t happen. I just want you to know that I’m going to do everything the doctor says, and God is going to take care of me.

Great news! We’re going to be back in most of these cities on tour in the fall of 2019, and we hope very much to see you there. Until then, I’ve got to have a quiet Christmas. I’ll be praying for you guys, and ask that you pray for us. Thank you so much for understanding. Our prayers are with you, and remember we’re all here for Only Jesus!

Third Day Announces Farewell Tour

Third Day will be calling it a career after 25 years and one final farewell tour.

"These last twenty-five years of Third Day have been an amazing ride that we never in our wildest dreams thought we would experience," said founding member and lead guitarist Mark Lee. Vocalist Mac Powell added "We know this is a season that is coming to a close, and we wanted to give our fans one more chance to see us perform live. The live show has been the core fan experience, and this tour will give us an opportunity to go out and say thank you to the fans who have always been so supportive of our music."

The band announced their decision to bring this chapter to an end in a video post on social media: "These last twenty-five years have been an amazing ride that we never in our wildest dreams thought we would experience. We know this is a season that is coming to a close, and we wanted to give fans one more chance to see us perform live."

Third Day will embark on a 12-city nationwide farewell tour beginning May 31 in Seattle, Washington, hitting at least one city in every region of the mainland, including Third Day's home state of Georgia, and wrapping up on June 27 in Denver, Colorado.

VIP tickets go on sale March 7th at noon, and general tickets are available on March 9th at 10 AM local venue time.

The southern rockers, fronted by vocalist Mac Powell, have been releasing CCM worship and pop/rock hits since their self-titled debut released in June 1996. Most recently, they returned to southern rock with Revival in 2017.

TobyMac Announces 2017 “HITS DEEP Tour” After 2016 Tour Finishes in Top 35 Worldwide

Announced on K-LOVE/AIR1, TobyMac shared the diverse line-up for his 2017 "HITS DEEP Tour" including Mac Powell from Third Day, Matt Maher, Mandisa, Capital Kings, Ryan Stevenson and Hollyn who will join him in over 30 arenas across the U.S.

The first venture of this unique partnership with TobyMac, K-LOVE/Air1 and Awakening Events was Spring of 2016-resulting in sold-out shows in 26 out of 29 markets. TobyMac's 2016 "HITS DEEP TOUR" visited arenas nationwide, including stops at Los Angeles' The Forum, Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena, Phoenix's Talking Stick Resort Arena, San Diego's Viejas Arena, Portland's Moda Center, Seattle's KeyArena, Denver's Coliseum and Kansas City's Sprint Center, which garnered 12,229 ticketed attendees alone.

According to Pollstar, the 2016 "HITS DEEP Tour" was the biggest tour in Christian music and ranked in the top 35 tours in the world.

Through a partnership with Food for the Hungry, concertgoers sponsored over 15,000 children, providing food, a better education, clean water and medical treatment.

"It's an amazing partnership that we have with K-LOVE/Air1, Awakening Events and Food for the Hungry, it takes us where I think our music should be-in the heart of our cities in the biggest arenas in town," explains TobyMac. "I always get excited when it's time to create the 'HITS DEEP Tour' line-up. We come together backstage - which leads us to a beautiful night on stage. A night deep in hits, that aims to hit you deep. A night where everybody is invited to the party!"

Known for his dynamic live show, the HITS DEEP LIVE CD/DVD (Nov. 18) will feature a full live album and concert video of 16 songs recorded on his highly acclaimed and sold-out "HITS DEEP Tour." This will be his first live album in eight years. THIS IS NOT A TEST, the American Music Award's winner latest LP, continues to have an unstoppable year earning a Grammy Award, a Billboard Music Award nod, three upcoming GMA Dove Award nominations and two back-to-back No. 1 hits at Christian radio, "Backseat Driver" and "Move (Keep Walkin')" with tour dates across Europe, Canada and the U.S..

Mac Powell Puts His Faith in Country Music

For two decades, Mac Powell has delighted audiences as a member of the popular Christian rock band Third Day. However, there is another side to the soulful singer, as he explores on his new self-titled debut country disc.

"It's something I have listened to since I was a little kid," he tells Billboard.

Country music was something he heard around the house growing up on a daily basis, and his parents helped spread the love of the format. "They loved playing acoustic guitar, and would sing around the house."

However, his musical journey would take him in a different direction, but he never forgot his love of the music.

Powell says that about two years ago, he began being approached by people asking whether he'd ever thought about making a country record

"When you have random people saying that, you start to think, 'Maybe I should be doing this,'" he says. "I knew I loved it, but I had been in this other genre for so long. So, I had a little time off at the end of last year, and got together with some friends of mine, and started working on some songs. I liked what I had come up with, and played it for some other people who did, and thought 'Maybe I need to get this out there."

Though the music on his solo disc is a much different sound, that doesn't mean that Third Day is calling it a day. "We've been together for twenty years, and it's one of things I still love doing. I have a great time playing with those guys. We actually have a new record coming out soon. It's fun to be able to do this. As a songwriter and musician, doing a country record gives me another outlet. I've had these other song ideas, and things I've wanted to do, but couldn't within Third Day, so this gives me a chance to do it."

Two of the highlights on the album are the first single, "June Bug," and "Sweet Georgia Girls," of which Powell says "It was one of the first songs we wrote for the record. There are several semi-autobiographical cuts on it, and it's not totally true. Like many writers, I tried to take some things that have happened in life, and tried to make a song out of it. I grew up in Alabama, and moved to Georgia, met my sweetheart, and now I have a house full of Georgia girls like the song talks about."

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Disney's Night of Joy Turns 30

"Disney cares about the family like we care about the family," says Brandon Heath, one of the Christian artists who performed this weekend at Walt Disney World's 30th annual Night of Joy. "It's a common goal that we have to enrich families. They can come enjoy the rides and attractions, and they can enjoy great music."

Third Day, Chris Tomlin, Casting Crowns, Francesca Battistelli, MercyMe, Chris August, Royal Tailor, Red, Disciple, Thousand Foot Crutch, NEEDTOBREATHE, Lecrae, Kutless, Dara Maclean and Yolanda Adams were among the acts performing at three different stages Friday and Saturday nights (Sept. 7-8) at Disney' Magic Kingdom.

It's been three decades since Disney launched the first Night of Joy with a line up that included Scott Wesley Brown, David Meece, Shirley Caesar, Leon Patillo, Benny Hester, Petra, Phil Keaggy and Sheila Walsh. Since then the festival has become one of Christian music's premiere events drawing fans from all over the world with an audience heavily populated by church youth groups. During the event, Disney hosts a special lounge for youth pastors where they can interact with artists.

Casting Crowns frontman Mark Hall and fellow Casting Crowns members Juan DeVevo and Hector Cervantes were surprised with a huge Stars Wars cake recognizing their birthdays. Third Day's Mark Lee and Mac Powell, Moriah Peters, and members of Red and Royal Tailor were on hand to sing and celebrate.

Hall, who has long been known as a big Star Wars fan, recently auctioned off his collection to benefit charity. "We raised about $20,000 selling my collection," he told Billboard. "We sold the Han Solo desk, the emperor's chair, helmets and paintings and all sort of stuff I accumulated over the years. My son and I started a collection several years back. I'm trying to teach my son: 'Stuff is cool, but ultimately people are more important than stuff.' To prove that to him I said, 'hey man, I really felt like God is wanting us to do this.' So it was something we did together and he got to see that you can have your hobbies, but it needs to lead to something bigger. The money went to World Vision and we supported water efforts in Rwanda."

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Mac Powell Releases Self-Titled Country Project

Mac Powell, front man of the multi-platinum selling, four time GRAMMY and American Music Award winning rock band Third Day, releases his self-titled debut country music album on August 21, 2012. The CD features twelve songs by the #1 hit songwriter including his first single, “June Bug” which he released last month through his Twitter account (@macpowell) to his more than 80,000 followers.
 
His recent solo country performance debut at the 2012 CMA Music Festival in Nashville resulted
in a host of media and fan accolades. Of his song, “One Mississippi,” USA Today’s Lucas Hendrickson writes, “Note to country radio programmers: keep an ear out for ‘One Mississippi.’ And keep a spoon handy, for you will be eating this song up with it.”

“There have been so many times in the past that I had song ideas that didn’t really fit lyrically or musically with Third Day,” Powell wrote on his personal Tumblr site, announcing the project. “I filed those songs away to the ‘maybe sometime’ category. Well, that time is now.”

Powell also stresses that his work with Third Day continues, with the band putting the finishing touches on a new album – helmed by veteran rock producer Brendan O’Brien – that’s due
for release this fall with a Spring 2013 tour to follow.

Third Day's Mac Powell Announces Solo Country Project

Third Day frontman Mac Powell announced this week that he has plans to release his first solo album---a country project! Rest assured that Powell has no intentions to leave Third Day, who are currently recording a new studio album as a band. For all the details, check out Mac's blog post below, and visit his blog page for the latest news.

Some Exciting News For Me To Share!
I can’t tell you how excited I am to tell y’all the news that I have made a Country record! I grew up listening to Country music, and I’ve been hearing for many years from friends, family, and fans that they would love to hear me do a Country album. After so much confirmation, I started feeling like I couldn’t NOT make a country record (does that make sense?). So, I went to work. 

There have been so many times in the past that I had song ideas that didn’t really fit lyrically or musically with Third Day. I filed those songs away to the “maybe sometime” category. Well, that time is now. I started working on these songs, and a whole bunch of new ones, off and on about a year ago. Then, I had the chance to record the songs with some really talented musicians. I am very happy with the results, and I cannot wait to share it with you! 

Before anybody freaks out, the answer is “NO!” Third Day is NOT breaking up! We are actually nearly finished with a brand spankin’ new album that we’ll be releasing this fall, with a tour to follow in the spring of next year. We’re really excited about the material, and appreciate what we have in Third Day more than ever.
There are still many questions to be answered with how and when my Country record will be released, but my hope is that it will be sometime in the next few months. Also, I’m planning on firing up the old van and trailer and getting out there on the road to play the music wherever I can for whomever is willing to listen. 

You guys have supported and encouraged me for many years now, and I don’t take it for granted. I would deeply appreciate all of your thoughts, prayers, and help in this coming season! I look forward to you guys hearing the music and seeing what you think very soon. 

Blessings! Mac