THIRD DAY FRONTMAN MAC POWELL RELEASES
SELF-TITLED DEBUT COUNTRY PROJECT – AUGUST 21, 2012
More Than Two Dozen Dates Already Booked For Fall Solo Tour
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 1, 2012) – 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.”
“I grew up listening to country music,” Powell tells Billboard. “It was a
big part of shaping me musically and I think that’s pretty evident in
Third Day music. There’s always been little tinge of it.”
To help further shape the sound he was looking for, Powell worked with
producer Jason Hoard who has been touring with Third Day since 2010.
Hoard, a multi-instrumentalist, played banjo and mandolin on the album
and also contributed to the songwriting credits along with famed
tunesmith Brett James (“Jesus Take the Wheel,” “Love You Out Loud,” “Out
Last Night,” “When the Sun Goes Down”).
“I started writing with Brett. He was really the first step,” says
Powell in his Billboard interview. “We just hit it off really well and
came up with a lot of ideas in a short amount of time, and then Jason
worked on a few of those ideas as well. We started recording them and it
just started feeling great.
“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 is already booked for over two dozen shows this summer and fall
to introduce fans to his new music. He’s back by a seasoned group of
country musicians, affectionately named The Backsliders, and although
it’s a bit of a change for an artist whose primary outlet puts him in
front of thousands of fans a night, it’s a change he clearly feels led
to follow. “It’s different to think about getting in a van with a
trailer and driving five to eight hours a night,” Powell told
USATODAY.com. “It’s something I never thought I would do again, but when
you’re driven to get this music out, you’ll do it.”
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.
About Mac Powell:
As front man for Third Day, Powell has contributed to the Atlanta-based,
multi-Platinum act’s 27 No. 1 radio singles and more than seven million
album sales, including two RIAA Platinum as well as eight Gold
certifications. A Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductee (2009), Third Day
has garnered 24 career GMA Dove Awards from 42 nominations, four GRAMMY
Awards (with 11 career nominations), an American Music Award (with three
American Music Award nominations) and multiple ASCAP honors, including
its coveted Vanguard Award, for songwriting.
Long known as Christian music’s premier live band, Third Day has played
for audiences reaching into the millions all around the world.
Third Day has been featured by top media outlets including “The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno” (NBC), “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson”
(CBS), “60 Minutes” (CBS), ABC’s “Nightline,” USA Today, the New York
Times, and even graced the cover of Billboard magazine, which called
Third Day “one of the best rock bands.”
For more information on Mac Powell, please visit www.macpowell.com and www.facebook.com/macpowell and www.twitter.com/macpowell.