TobyMac brings ‘Hits Deep’ tour to Kennewick on March 15

TobyMac wants people to have fun at his concerts.

But the multiplatinum-selling artist — one of the best known names in Christian music — also wants something more.

“I want people to leave our shows sweaty and hoarse, but refreshed inside,” he told the Herald by phone during a recent break from the road.

TobyMac is bringing his Hits Deep tour to the Toyota Center in Kennewick on March 15.

Along with the six-time Grammy Award winner and his DiverseCity Band, the tour also includes Britt Nicole, Colton Dixon, Building 429, Capital Kings, Finding Favour and Hollyn.

TobyMac, whose real name is Toby McKeehan, was part of the trio DC Talk, a successful Christian music group from the 1990s-2000s.

He went on to find wild success as a solo artist, releasing several studio albums, including Eye on It, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

His latest album, This is Not a Test, dropped last year. Among the standout tracks is Love Feels Like, a deeply personal song inspired by his relationship with his ailing father, who died last year.

“For the last couple years of his life...I really got to care for him when he couldn’t care for himself. It felt like this new dimension of love for me,” TobyMac said.

On the track, he raps that, “This is harder than I thought, harder than I thought it’d be. Harder than I thought, taking every part of me.”

Yet, “empty never felt so full,” the song goes.

TobyMac’s DC Talk bandmates, Michael Tait and Kevin Max Smith, appear on the track.

TobyMac grew up in the Washington, D.C., area. He was writing lyrics even as a kid.

“I had a sixth-grade English teacher who really made me fall in love with words,” he said. He found similar inspiration from a college creative writing professor.

For him, writing always has been the best part of the music process.

“If you took the writing aspect away, I don’t think I would perform. I perform because I write, not the other way around,” he told the Herald.

These days, he uses his iPhone — jotting down lyrics in the notes section and singing melodies into the recorder.

When he writes, he draws from his own life and experiences — “the good, bad and ugly.”

He tries to say something, to make a difference with his music.

“I‘m not trying to make self-indulgent art,” he said. “I want my music to serve people well, serve humankind.”

TobyMac, a married father of five, said he looks forward to the Kennewick show. The Northwest is a favorite place to visit.

And he loves the chance to entertain — and to bring audiences to a deeper level, a deeper place.

The show is “energetic, passionate, with moments of real intensity,” he said. “Hopefully we leave people with things to think about, things to discuss.”

Showtime is 7 p.m. Tickets start at $26.

They’re available through the Toyota Center box office and Ticketmaster. Those purchased through the box office avoid service charges.

This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 3:36 PM with the headline "TobyMac brings ‘Hits Deep’ tour to Kennewick on March 15."