Third Day began in 1991, when singer Mac Powell and guitarist Mark Lee finished studying at McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia. They had already played together in a garage band called Nuclear Hoedown, but now wanted to form a band where they could express their faith in God. Powell and Lee added a keyboard player named Billy Wilkins, and dedicated their time to write songs and perform around the state of Georgia.[1]
In 1992, they were playing at Lee's church the same night that drummer David Carr and bassist Tai Anderson were playing with a band called Bullard Family Singers. Their youth director asked the band to perform at their church. The group took along quickly and were invited to join the band.[2] The album that Carr produced would be released the next year under the title Long Time Forgotten.
In 1993, while dealing with their studies, the band started playing more aggressively around Atlanta and saved $3,000 to record a full-length album. Also, during this time, original member, Billy Wilkins, who was working as a school teacher, ended up leaving the band.[3] Still, Third Day continued to work on their first full-length album with an additional member, electric guitarist August McCoy, recording at Furies Studios in Atlanta. The album was finally released in 1994 with 2,000 copies available.[4] In 1995, the band started looking for a new second guitarist. They had heard Brad Avery play with singer Chris Carder and asked him to play with the band. After playing "Consuming Fire" during their first rehearsal, Avery officially joined the band.
As the band completed its line-up, they also started playing steadily around the South-east area. They also started playing at an Marietta venue called the Strand Theatre. The management of the local decided to sign the band to a new independent record label called Gray Dot Records. That same year, the band released the album Third Day, which ended up selling 20,000 copies. Shortly after, Reunion Records signed the band to a multi-album deal.[5]
In 2004, the band released their next album, Wire, and toured the States with tobyMac and Warren Barfield. In June of the same year, the band traveled to Europe for a two-week tour. Upon returning, the band recorded a concert at Louisville which ended up as their next project, Live Wire, released later that year. During that year, they also collaborated on the soundtrack for Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ, they played at the Republican National Convention, and were featured in the show 60 Minutes.[13] In January 2007, the band played one night each in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney, Australia.[14]
Their next album, Wherever You Are, debuted on the Billboard 200 at #8.[15] It also won the band their third Grammy. They have followed it with the holiday album, Christmas Offerings in 2006, and with a compilation of their hits titled Chronology in 2007. Their next studio album called Revelation was released July 29, 2008. On February 28th, 2008, Third Day released a statement announcing Brad Avery's departure from the band after 13 years and over 1000 concerts. The band also performed at the Papal Youth Rally in March 2008. The song "This Is Who I Am" from their new album Revelation appears in NASCAR 09, though the album was released over a month after the game. They appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on July 10 2008 and then on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on July 29, 2008.