Mac Powell’s Exclusive One-on-One with CCM Magazine’s Logan Sekulow

I should’ve known. I mean, I really should’ve known. A couple of weeks back, when that mysterious countdown timer popped up on Third Day’s website, I wrote a speculation piece just for fun — not because I had any insider info, but because I, like so many others, had a hunch. A hope. Maybe even a prayer. Next thing I knew, Third Day shared the article with the world — eye emojis and all — and people started calling me like I was holding state secrets. I told everyone the truth: I had no idea. I was just guessing. But deep down, I was hoping the same thing they were.

Now here we are. Less than 24 hours since the big announcement, and I’m talking one-on-one with Mac Powell. Not as a journalist digging for scoops, but as two Georgia boys catching up on something that means a lot to both of us. We’re talking about the real reunion — the classic lineup, the full force of Third Day back in arenas for what’s being billed as a 30-year celebration tour. The kind of Christian rock show we’ve all been missing.

I ask the first question everyone’s asking: “What changed?”

Mac doesn’t miss a beat. “I know that maybe two or three years ago, we had gotten an invitation to go do a tour, and there was a big check that was going to be written and all this stuff, and it just didn’t feel right… I thought, you know what? In 2026, that will be 30 years of the first album coming out. And maybe, just maybe, that might be a good time to go do a little mini tour.”

From there, it all came together. He called Mark Lee — the guy he started the band with — and the rest followed. “We reached out to David, our drummer, and Tai, the bass player, and they said, hey, we’re in. Let’s go make this happen.”

And this isn’t some nostalgia tour quietly slipping through small clubs and theaters. “This isn’t the Third Day playing the casino tour,” I laugh. “This is the original group of guys everyone associates with Third Day, and you’re doing places like Bridgestone Arena.”

Mac laughs too. But he gets it. “When we did the farewell tour, we weren’t sure… We had not toured for a year and a half. We had done a handful of shows. We were trying to just fade away into the sunset. We didn’t want to make any announcements.”

Then Tom Petty passed away.

“And I’m moping around the house,” he tells me. “My wife said, what’s going on with you? And I said, I feel like my friend passed away. Even though I’d never met him… And so Amy said to me, ‘I know you don’t want to hear this… but you need to do a farewell tour… the way that you feel about Tom Petty, your fans are going to feel about you.’”

So they did it. The farewell tour. Smaller rooms. Three nights at the Ryman instead of one night at Bridgestone. “We ended up doing three nights… but I remember talking to the promoter going, ‘Bridgestone is empty tonight. We could have just done that one time.’ So we’re swinging for the fences a little bit more.”

We both agree — this is a generational moment. Multi-generational, even. “To me,” I tell him, “you’ve got people who found Third Day in completely different eras. For some it’s the first record or through Consuming Fire. For my age it’s Come Together, or Offerings, or even Soul on Fire if they’re a little younger.”

Mac nods. “Yeah, it’s pretty exciting for me to think about going back and looking at all those records… I think there’ll be a core group of songs that we’ll play every night… but there’s definitely going to be some songs that rotate in and out that we’re excited about getting to.”

I bring up Jimmy Buffett’s “Big Eight,” the essential setlist staples fans could always count on. “I won’t make you name eight,” I say, “but what’s your core five?”

He goes right into it: “Soul on Fire, Cry Out to Jesus, probably Show Me Your Glory, I Need a Miracle… gosh, what’s the fifth one going to be?” We unison respond “God of Wonders.” He pauses. Maybe finishing Mac’s sentences took my fan level a bit too far. “Yeah. So we’re probably going to play those five. There’s probably really a core 10 or 12 to be honest. And then, you know, we’ll get to rotate some other ones in and some for you.”

Of course, I have to ask — is there one he’s insisting on sneaking in, no matter what?

“I think Consuming Fire is one of those. It’s so interesting. When I’m doing my solo stuff… I’ll ask, how many of you know Consuming Fire? And about ten people raise their hands. So back to your point — that first record was just eye-opening for them… but there’s so many people that have no idea.”

We start talking about the K-LOVE Fan Awards from just a few weeks ago, where he performed God of Wonders — one of those undeniable legacy songs. “Was there a moment during that performance,” I ask, “where you thought, ‘Oh man… they don’t even know what’s coming’?”

He grins. “Yeah. Yeah, it actually felt that way… for me it was more about honoring Steve Hindalong. For people out there who don’t know, he was in one of the first bands I ever listened to — The Choir. And he co-wrote God of Wonders. So just to kind of honor him… I remember looking over, for some reason Lauren Daigle caught my eye and as soon as I started playing the first little chords, she just freaked out. Grabbed her friend and was like, ‘I love this song.’”

We both laugh about how deeply the music is embedded. I tell him about sitting in the balcony during that set and how I alone involuntarily yelling “Yeah!” when he mentioned The Choir. “That was you?!” Mac laughed. “But that’s what we’re trying to build here at CCM — to respect what got us here.”

Mac jumps on that thought. “That’s what I loved about that K-LOVE performance… literally the first two artists I listened to in Christian music — The Choir and Michael W. Smith. Michael was actually going to sing with me that night… but I was a little too late.”

He gets nostalgic, but it’s grounded. I bring up the fact that Third Day was on the cover of CCM countless times — “We’ve got one back here,” I say, motioning off-screen. “Maybe we get another one next year?”

“Yeah. I loved that,” he says.

We wrap up by talking tickets — because they’re on sale now at [ThirdDay.com](https://thirdday.com). I already locked in my block at Bridgestone. You have some time though to indoctrinate your children into how amazing this catalogue of music is. The tour starts next March, but tickets are on sale now.

Mac is humble about it all. “It’s been an amazing ride… now to get the band back together for a little while and play some of those old school songs… I really do, to give CCM a shout out — when I first gave my life to the Lord, I knew I wanted to make Christian music. But I didn’t know that was a thing… then I got CCM Magazine and started learning about all these artists, and it opened up my eyes.”

He shares a moment fanboying out on a recent phone call with Wes King. “I’m 52 years old and I was fanboying Wes King on the phone,” he says, cracking up. “CCM was such a huge part of that.”

We even touch on Georgia — the birthplace of so much of this. I always say music is Georgia’s greatest export. I started listing the artists: “Butch Walker. Allman Brothers Band, Widespread Panic, Outkast, R.E.M” Mac quickly interjects “The Black Crowes!” I chime in “It’s all kind of interwoven, that’s the thing – I can weirdly find connective tissue between Third Day and Outkast. And I know that sounds crazy, but it’s there in the dirt.”

“I think a big part of it is Atlanta,” Mac says. “It’s a big city, but not so big you’re not bumping into each other at concerts or Braves games… Everybody’s kind of listening to each other and encouraging each other.”

He closes with a story about demanding the press release be timed in Eastern. “I said, why is it coming from Nashville? We live in Atlanta. We are Georgia Boys. And then it was like the announcement was going to come at 10 Central time. I’m sorry — why is it 10 Central? It needs to be 11 Eastern.”

📺 Watch the full CCM Magazine interview with Mac Powell on YouTube now.