Vocalist Mac Powell and acoustic guitarist Mark Lee launched Third Day under the influence of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Southern rock along with U2 and Rich Mullins. Bassist Tai Anderson and drummer David Carr, both drawn from a separate local group, soon completed the lineup, after which the band cut early demos. Steady growth in their concert audiences created a devoted following, leading to the addition of lead guitarist Brad Avery just before the group secured a deal with Gray Dot Records. The self-titled debut arrived in 1996, and Conspiracy No. 5 followed the next year. Time appeared in 1999, succeeded in 2000 by Offerings, a set blending fresh and concert recordings; its sequel, Offerings II: All I Have to Give, surfaced in 2003, the same year the American Music Awards nominated Third Day for Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist.
Returning to a rock & roll emphasis on their fifth studio effort, 2004's Wire, the band issued the accompanying Live Wire shortly afterward. They sustained that direction on the Top Ten hit Wherever You Are, released in 2005 and issued in CD/DVD format the following year. Christmas Offerings, a holiday collection, came out in 2006, and the compilation Chronology arrived in 2007; in February 2008 the group disclosed Brad Avery's exit. Third Day pressed ahead regardless, delivering Revelation that July under producer Howard Benson with guest contributions from Chris Daughtry and Lacey Mosley. Move followed in late October 2010, steering the band toward a rootsier Southern rock approach. In 2012 they enlisted veteran producer Brendan O'Brien, known for work with the Killers, Pearl Jam, and Bruce Springsteen, to shape their eleventh studio album, Miracle.
Third Day returned to faith-centered material with 2015's Lead Us Back: Songs of Worship. Powell characterized the choral-rich project as a true worship album, incorporating singers from his local congregation and CCM guests that included Michael W. Smith, Natalie Grant, Michael Tait, and All Sons & Daughters. Early in 2017 the band rejoined producer Monroe Jones, who had overseen several of their most popular releases, and unveiled the Mac Powell-written single "Revival" as the opening track of the album of the same name, tracked at Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. By early 2018 Third Day declared their dissolution, scheduling a farewell tour that ultimately grew to twenty dates.
