Third Day just wrapped the Revelation Tour
Multi-platinum, GRAMMY and AMA winning rock band Third Day just wrapped the “Revelation Tour” which is among its most successful outings ever thanks to sales in excess of 75,000 tickets and more than 1/3 of its dates being sold out. The 35-city run, which welcomed special guests, the GMA “Male Vocalist of the Year” and “Song of the Year” recipient Brandon Heath and new pop/rock band Revive, educated the massive turnout of fans about fair trade through Third Day’s innovative partnership with Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company.
Long-established as a strong live act, Third Day fed off its fans’ ecstatic energy to turn in performances on par with–if not superior to–any in the band’s history. “The ‘Revelation Tour’ has been completely energizing for the band,” responds Third Day bassist Tai Anderson. “The sold out crowds have been singing along to all the hits and letting us know night after night how much the new music is resonating with them. Fans that have seen Third Day dozens of times through the years have repeatedly told us that this has been their favorite show yet. It has been great to share the stage with a rising star Brandon Heath, and Revive’s enthusiasm has been contagious for everyone on the tour.”
The band’s booking agent, Jeff Gregg of Creative Artists Agency, agrees. “This was, without a doubt, a power tour,” he says. “The ‘Revelation Tour’ sold out more than 1/3 of its dates this spring, which, in this economic climate really says a lot for this tour. The popularity of the show has promoters buzzing about upcoming fall tour opportunities.”
The “Revelation Tour,” which kicked off in March and concluded with a sellout date in Abbotsford, Canada on May 9 also boasted sold-out dates in cities such as Macon, Ga.; Jonesboro, Ark.; Bossier City, La.; Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Corona, Calif.; Redding, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Modesto, Calif.; Abbotsford, BC; Green Bay, Wis.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Phoenix, Arizona.
Dan Fife, of Awakening Events, offers, “In four months, we had four sold-out shows between Winter ‘08 and Spring ‘09, including a March 20th show with 4,500 Third Day fans at the Arkansas State University Convocation Center. The energy level at our shows was awesome and we had more follow up comments than you can imagine. Besides the full houses, we always enjoy knowing we are a small part of making a difference in the world through the Third Day Come Together Fund, which supports various humanitarian projects around the globe.”
Thanks to a forward-looking and consistent online presence by Third Day, the band and its fans enjoy an unusual level of interaction. “Facebook and Twitter have proven to be invaluable tools for communicating with our fans on a whole new level. It has given us another platform to connect with them on this tour,” explains Third Day guitarist Mark Lee. “From up-to-the-minute updates to even taking song requests on Twitter, fans are given a more immediate glimpse into the day-to-day life of a working band, and we have another vehicle to get the word out about Third Day.” The band’s most popular online destinations are:
http://thirdday.blogs.com/, http://www.thirdday.com/, http://marklee.posterous.com/, www.twitter.com/thirdday, and http://www.twitter.com/marklee3d
The “Revelation Tour” continued Third Day’s tradition of “paying it forward” by donating $1 per ticket sold to charitable organizations through its Come Together Fund. Through this fund, Third Day–who actively supports the ONE Campaign–has been able to serve charities such as Habitat For Humanity, Blood:Water Mission, World Vision’s Hope Child Initiative and is responsible for more than a million dollars in donations over the last 4 years to disaster relief in and outside of the U.S.
For the “Revelation Tour,” Third Day formed a redemptive partnership with Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee on behalf of Rwanda. The two paired up after David Carr–the band’s drummer and a coffee connoisseur–experienced a Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee House near Atlanta. Third Day drew attention to the fair trade company, in part, by featuring a Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee mobile shop and barista at each “Revelation Tour” stop.
“I was surprised to learn that 80 percent of the coffee Americans consume is exploitation coffee,” explains Carr. “But, in addition to serving an excellent, freshly roasted cup of joe, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company works directly with coffee growers in Rwanda to ensure each worker is treated fairly and paid a living wage. As they enjoy the fruit of their labor, growers experience the sweetness of God’s grace. Perhaps this is a revelation many need to hear; that their daily habits have a remarkable impact on people all over the world, that through simply purchasing coffee where every worker is taken care of, an entire nation is experiencing redemption.”
Entrepreneurial pastor Jonathan Golden started Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee after learning the 1994 genocide in Rwanda devastated the coffee growing community and left the surviving growers in unjust conditions. In addition to practicing fair trade, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee has invested a portion of its profits into village projects like building a coffee washing station in Bukonya, offering microfinance loans to entrepreneurs (including helping widows become entrepreneurs and cultivate their businesses), providing coffee bikes to growers, and, ever important, financing care for village orphans.
“We are so thankful to Third Day for allowing us to team up with them on the ‘Revelation Tour’,” says Golden. “The band’s support has allowed us to reach hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country, all with the goal of cultivating community and pursuing social justice in Rwanda. With the help of Third Day, we are actively on our way to transforming the village of Bukonya, Rwanda: 210 farmers, 1,200 family members, and 500 orphans.” For more information on Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee visit: www.landofathousandhills.com.
