If you go
› What: Hits Deep Tour with TobyMac, Matt Maher, Mandisa, Mac Powell, Capital Kings, Hollyn and Ryan Stevenson.› When: 6:30 p.m. today, March 2.› Where: McKenzie Arena, 720 E. Fourth St.› Admission: $15 and $26.75.› Phone: 423-425-4706.› Website: www.utc.edu/tickets.
TobyMac
When it comes to putting together his Hits Deep Tour, TobyMac is not the kind of artist who has an itinerary of times and places faxed to him. He doesn't just show up and play. He rolls up his sleeves and gets involved in every decision.
"I'm very involved in picking the lineup and involved in helping come up with the sets and how they interact and change the sets," he says.
The tour will stop in Chattanooga tonight, March 2, for a show at McKenzie Arena.
Born Toby McKeehan, TobyMac has been one of the leading forces in contemporary Christian music since the mid 1980s with the band DC Talk. He's charted 20 solo hit singles, including six No. 1's, sold more than 10 million albums and won seven Grammy Awards.
For this tour, he wanted to pick acts with hits that fans would know, and he wanted people that he liked and that would embrace the interactive nature of the whole touring environment. While one act is onstage, he says, the rest of the acts are backstage hanging out, playing cornhole or basketball or praying.
"If backstage is right, hopefully everyone is helping each other or cheering each other on, and that is reflective from the stage to the audience."
Each of the acts will do only their biggest hits, so it truly is a concert of songs fans will know.
"If you have two hits, you are doing two," TobyMac says. "If you have four, you're doing four. If you're Mac Powell, you're doing all of your biggest singles. It's hits all night long with songs [fans] are singing in their cars."
About the artists
* Mandisa: Mandisa Lynn Hudley's career took off with the fifth season of "American Idol." She finished ninth, but parlayed the attention she garnered into a career that has included winning a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album.
* Matt Maher: He says he was searching for his next musical direction when he recorded Bill Gaither's "Because He Lives" in his backyard studio. When the record label loved it, it opened his mind to the idea that his search was actually creating his next record, "Saints and Sinners."
* Mac Powell: Powell co-founded the band Third Day with Mark Lee and won the Gospel Music Association's Male Vocalist of the Year award in 2001. Known for his rock leanings, he has been a popular performer on the Christian music tour for more than a decade.
* Capital Kings: Cole Walowac and Dylan Housewright make up this pop, electronic, Christian duo. They were among the first to find an audience for dubstep (electronic music) on the Christian music scene.
* Hollyn: Hollyn Marie Miller, a contestant on Season 12 of "American Idol," sings a mix of pop, R&B and Christian music. She is featured on "Backseat Driver" and "Light Shine Bright" on TobyMac's "This Is Not a Test."
* Ryan Stevenson: Before launching his music career, Stevenson was a paramedic for eight years. His hits include "Holding Nothing Back," "The Human Side" and "All Yours."