Third Day's Album Release Comes Down To the Wire

GRAMMY and Dove Award winning rock band Third Day has already set the wheels in motion for the anticipated May 4 release of its seventh studio album, Wire. Momentum has been swiftly building as the band continues to draw near-capacity crowds in the first early days of its 85-city Third Day Live tour with special guests tobyMac and Warren Barfield. The tour has already been seen by more than 50,000 in the first  10 shows.

Tickets for Third Day’s May 3, hometown performance at Atlanta’s Fox Theater sold out quickly, so a second sold-out show was added on May 4, the new album’s street date. Immediately following the May 4 show, Third Day will host a post-concert release party at Atlanta’s historic drive-in restaurant The Varsity to celebrate the release of Wire.

In the midst of excitement surrounding the tour and upcoming album release, Third Day has remained busy, recently visiting with key Washington D.C. contacts at a special media dinner in Fairfax, Va., before the band’s concert there. Attending the dinner with Third Day were representatives from the State Department, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), DATA, World Vision, Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum’s office, Tennessee Representative Bill Frist’s office and the Associated Press.

Following the Fairfax, Va., concert on April 18, the members of Third Day spent the following day in Washington, D.C., where they visited FOX News anchor Tony Snow, took a White House tour and met with Senator Santorum’s office to discuss their efforts and DATA’s efforts in the Africa AIDS crisis. Third Day’s schedule also included a meeting with the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and lunch with Drew Ryun, the Republican National Committee’s Director of Grassroots Development. The weekend culminated with the band’s press conference on Monday, as part of MTV’s “Choose or Lose” campaign to encourage young people to get out and vote.

As Third Day continues on its successful tour run, the band is slated to hit major markets including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Seattle and Little Rock, among others. The band makes a stop in Nashville this Saturday, April 24, where it will perform just prior to Gospel Music Week. The concert takes place at Starwood Ampitheater and is sponsored by Chevrolet with WAY-FM promoting the show as part of its annual “WAYFEST 2004.”

“We’re really excited about the Nashville show this weekend,” says Third Day bassist Tai Anderson. “We wanted to make sure we got to play in front of the GMA crowd because that’s a group of people who have supported us all along the way, and we don’t get a chance to see them that much. It’s a great opportunity for us be with friends and to say thanks.”

In addition to a 2004 GRAMMY nomination for Offerings II: All I Have to Give, and being referred to as the ‘touring band of the year’ by promoters for the past three years, Third Day was also honored with an American Music Award (AMA) nomination in 2003. The band received a GRAMMY in 2003 for Come Together and honors from ASCAP in the Song of the Year category.

Over its 11-year career, the five-piece rock band has garnered 19 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, 20 No. 1 radio singles and is nearing the four million mark in career sales. Third Day’s success on tour is unparalleled with an audience of more than 75,000 in 2002 and ranking twice on touring magazine Pollstar’s “Top 100 Tours of 2002” list, ranking above acts including Counting Crows and Alanis Morissette.

For updated Third Day information, please visit www.ThirdDay.com.