Max Lucado, TobyMac, Michael W. Smith, Third Day to Headline Fall Arena Tour in 20 Cities

Contact: Debra Akins, Southside Entertainment, 321-747-0078, Debra@DebraAkins.com, Twitter: @DebraAkins

NASHVILLE, May 13 /Standard Newswire/ -- World Vision and AEG Live announce the "Make A Difference Tour 2010" featuring New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado and some of the top names in the Christian music industry--GRAMMY® award-winning recording artists TobyMac, Michael W. Smith and Third Day. Inspired by the themes of Lucado's forthcoming book, Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference (Thomas Nelson, September 2010), the "Make A Difference Tour 2010" will kick off Sept. 30, in Youngstown, Ohio, and hit arenas in 20 cities through the end of October. 

Photo: (l-r) Third Day's Mac Powell, Tai Anderson, David Carr; TobyMac (kneeling); Third Day's Mark Lee; Michael W. Smith (seated) and Max Lucado.

AEG Live, a leading provider of live entertainment around the world, is producer for the "Make A Difference Tour 2010” and World Vision, an international humanitarian agency, is the tour sponsor. The tour has also partnered with HearItFirst.com, a leading online destination for Christian music fans, for exclusive video content, tour news and more.

The "Make A Difference Tour 2010" will make a difference for children by helping to raise up sponsors for 25,000 children through World Vision. Lucado set the goal last year in honor of his 25th year of publishing in 2010; he is donating 100% of author royalties from all Outlive Your Life products to benefit children and families through World Vision and other ministries of faith-based compassion.

Lucado sees big things happening because of the tour: "Partnering with World Vision, TobyMac, Michael and Third Day is a real privilege and pleasure. None of us can help everyone, but all of us can help someone. And when we serve the poor, we serve God.  Who would want to miss a chance to do that?"

"The 'Make A Difference Tour 2010' is different by design," says Jenny Lockwald, Channel/Product Executive Director for World Vision. "The focus of the tour is to encourage people to look beyond themselves, to turn outward and to make a difference on behalf of friends, neighbors, their community and the world. We are honored to be partnering in this endeavor with Max Lucado and this amazing group of artists."

"This marks a first for these four artists to tour together," says Steve Moore, Senior Vice President, AEG Live / MEG. "Max, Michael, Toby and the men of Third Day all agree this message is the perfect rallying point, and that making a difference for others is a lifelong commitment they all share."

The "Make A Difference Tour 2010" will visit 20 U.S. cities during the month of October, including:

9-30 Youngstown, OH Covelli Center
10-1 Corbin, KY  Southeastern Kentucky Expo Center
10-2 Alpharetta, GA  Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
10-3 Cape Girardeau, MO Show Me Center
10-7 Austin, TX  The Theatre at the Frank Erwin Center
10-8 Beaumont, TX  Ford Park Arena
10-9 Lafayette, LA  Cajundome
10-10 Columbus, GA  Columbus Civic Center
10-14 San Jose, CA  HP Pavilion
10-15 Bakersfield, CA  Rabobank Arena
10-16 Ontario, CA  Citizens Business Bank Arena
10-17 Glendale, AZ  Jobing.com Arena
10-21 Colorado Springs, CO World Arena
10-22 Lubbock, TX  United Spirit Arena
10-23 Wichita Falls, TX Kay Yeager Coliseum
10-24 Topeka, KS  Kansas ExpoCentre
10-27 Cedar Rapids, IA US Cellular Center
10-28 Green Bay, WI  Resch Center
10-29 Dayton, OH  Nutter Center
10-30 Fayetteville, NC  Crown Coliseum

* All dates are subject to change without notice. 

Tickets will go on sale first to World Vision supporters and artist fan clubs on June 11, then open up to the general public on June 18.  Visit www.MakeADifferenceTour.com for tour updates.

About Max Lucado:
Max Lucado has more than 65 million books in print and a publishing career spanning 25 years. Max and his wife Denalyn live in San Antonio, Texas, where he is Minister of Preaching at Oak Hills Church. 

About TobyMac:
TobyMac has sold more than 2 million albums and received his first GRAMMY® as a solo artist. With his groundbreaking group dc talk, he won four GRAMMYs and sold more than 8 million albums. His latest album is TONIGHT, which features his GRAMMY-nominated and Dove Award-wining single "City On Our Knees." TobyMac was named the GMA Dove Award's 2008 Artist of the Year and is now writing his first solo book City On Our Knees: If You Gotta Start Somewhere, Why Not Here (Bethany House, September 2010). TobyMac and his family of seven live in Franklin, TN. For more information, visit www.tobymac.com.

About Michael W. Smith:
Throughout his 27-year career as a recording artist, Michael W. Smith has amassed an impressive catalog of achievements. His 21 albums have garnered multiple honors including an American Music Award, three GRAMMY® Awards, 44 GMA Dove Awards and 33 No. 1 radio hits. In addition, he holds 16 Gold and five platinum albums for career sales approaching 15 million. Smith, who was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2009, has scored several film projects, written 11 books and has been featured by many national media outlets.  For up-to-date information, please visit www.michaelwsmith.com.

About Third Day:
Over the past decade, the Atlanta-based, multi-Platinum rock band Third Day has racked up 27 No. 1 radio singles and sold 6.25 million albums. A recent Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductee, Third Day has garnered 24 career GMA Dove Awards, four GRAMMY® Awards, an American Music Award and multiple ASCAP honors for songwriting. As a top-ranked touring band, according to Pollstar magazine, Third Day has played for audiences reaching into the millions. For more information, please visit www.ThirdDay.com.

AEG Live/MEG is a subsidiary of Anschutz Entertainment Group, one of the leading providers of live entertainment and sports in the world. AEG Live is dedicated to all aspects of live entertainment and multi-media production and is the second largest concert promotion, special event and touring company in the world.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. For more on World Vision, go to www.worldvision.org.