The Heart Behind The Tour

“We want to walk off this bus and invade this backstage with love.”

That’s TobyMac & Diverse City’s motto as the GRAMMY Award winner and his band hit the road for 2019’s Hits Deep Tour. "Just the way we treat people who run the arena we're in, the way we treat the tour manager, the way we treat the other bands," Toby adds, explaining their philosophy. "We just feel like we're called to that."

He's seen the benefit of this intentionality across countless tours throughout his career. "I've felt like my influence—and I say that in all humility—was being engaged as much backstage with these artists as it was onstage with the crowd. And I began to see, for lack of better terms, ministry as backstage as well as onstage," he shares. "My band has just so embraced that mentality. We encourage each other, and the competitive edge falls to the wayside. All that stuff goes away, and it just becomes this beautiful place where we're encouraging each other and cheering for each other."

Toby and his team first launched the fast-paced, multi-artist tour that became Hits Deep in 2012. The idea was to spotlight shorter, hit-filled sets from a variety of chart-toppers all in one night.

"All these radio hits, they hit deep; they hit your heart; they meet you where your life is, and God willing, might even redirect some lives," Toby offers. "So we came up with this name, 'Hits Deep,' like this tour is deep in hits, but it's also songs that hit deep and strike a chord with people's lives."

Kicking off Jan. 29, this spring's line-up also features Jeremy Camp, Jordan Feliz, Ryan Stevenson, We Are Messengers and Aaron Cole. Running through April, Hits Deep will bring a packed night of fan favorites to 34 arenas.

For a full list of dates and cities, visit the Hits Deep Tour page.