Michael W. Smith and Third Day Wrap Up Recent West Coast Leg of 'Come Together and Worship Tour'

More than 110,000 fans attended the West Coast leg of the “Come Together and Worship Tour” featuring Grammy-winning artists Third Day (Essential Records), Michael W. Smith (Reunion Records) and special guest author/speaker Max Lucado.

The tour visited 12 markets, including Tempe, Ariz.; Anaheim, Calif.; Las Vegas; Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver; Sacramento, Calif.; Fresno, Calif.; San Jose, Calif.; Boise, Idaho; Tacoma, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; and Spokane, Wash. with an average attendance of 10,000 at each venue. Pollstar magazine ranked last year’s fall run of 16 dates as one of the Top 100 Tours of 2002.

Jonathan Thomas, director of events and promotions for Creative Trust, Third Day’s management team commented, “It’s again very exciting to see these artists join together for a season to lead, while positively impacting culture. This tour truly met its goal - to come together and worship.” He continued, “The success of this tour required the hard work of many people including promoters, venue managers, radio, retail and an amazing touring crew. They all should be congratulated on a job well done.”

“The second leg of this tour was as amazing as the first,” added Chaz Corzine, partner in Blanton Harrell Cooke & Corzine, Smith’s management company. “The people in each city joined the Third Day guys, Michael and Max for an experience that was bigger than anything we could have expected.”

In addition to seeing tremendous audience turnout in all cities, ministry partners World Vision and Compassion International saw approximately 5,500 children sponsored over the tour. “World Vision is deeply thankful to Third Day for being such a strong voice for children around the world impacted by HIV/AIDS,” noted Karen Kartes, marketing communications manager for World Vision. “This concert tour has been the ideal vehicle for encouraging Americans to respond to the severity of this crisis through HopeChild sponsorship.”

Spence Smith, artist relations manager for Compassion International added, “Michael powerfully communicates a heart of worship on this tour and allows his audience the opportunity to help children living in poverty, through child sponsorship. Compassion International thanks Michael for his ongoing example of creating a lasting relationship between the sponsor and the child.”

Third Day, Michael W. Smith and Max Lucado are preparing for eventful fall seasons. Third Day’s Offerings II - All I Have To Give (March 4) continues its climb up sales charts and is nearing RIAA Gold status. The band’s current single “You Are So Good To Me” maintains its No. 1 spot on R&R’s Christian CHR Top 30 chart for the fourth consecutive week, while securing the No. 2 position on R&R’s Christian Adult Contemporary chart.

Michael W. Smith is readying for a European tour that kicks off June 5 in Denmark. Upon his return, he’ll spend time in the studio adding finishing touches to his Oct. 7 release, The Second Decade, which will feature hits from albums spanning the last ten years of his career. The Christian music pioneer is also working on new music for a highly anticipated 2004 studio release.



By CCM Magazine Staff