For years, making it in music meant getting signed, recording albums, and hitting the road.

Today, artists are still hitting the road.

The difference is that many of them are realizing the road isn’t always taking them where they thought it would.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen more and more artists cancel tours, postpone dates, step away from the spotlight, or openly talk about burnout. And it seems especially noticeable in country music, where touring has always been one of the biggest parts of an artist’s career.

The question is why.

As someone who has spent years interviewing artists through The Chris & Sandy Show, I’ve heard pieces of the answer over and over again.

Many fans see the sold-out shows, the social media posts, the backstage photos, and the highlight reels. What they don’t see are the endless miles, missed family moments, sleepless nights, rising travel costs, and the pressure to constantly stay relevant in a world that never slows down.

Years ago, an artist could focus on making music and performing.

Today, that’s only part of the job.

Now they’re expected to create content every day, stay active on multiple social media platforms, interact with fans online, film videos, record podcasts, appear on radio shows, promote merchandise, and somehow still find time to write and record great music.

The audience’s appetite for content has become endless.

And while technology has created incredible opportunities for artists to reach fans directly, it has also created a world where many feel like they can never clock out.

The music industry itself has changed too.

Streaming has made music more accessible than ever, but it has also dramatically reduced how much many artists earn from the music itself. For a large number of artists, touring isn’t just part of the business anymore.

It’s the business.

When ticket sales soften, costs rise, and profit margins shrink, the pressure becomes even greater.

Then you add something we don’t talk about enough: mental health.

For decades, artists were expected to simply push through.

Today, many are finally being honest about the emotional toll that constant travel, public scrutiny, and life on the road can take.

And honestly, maybe that’s not a bad thing.

Maybe we’re finally seeing artists choose health over hustle.

Maybe we’re seeing people recognize that success isn’t worth much if it costs everything else.

The reality is that most artists didn’t get into music because they wanted to become content creators, marketers, advertisers, and social media managers.

They got into music because they had something to say.

Something to sing.

Something to share.

And somewhere along the way, the business of music became just as demanding as the music itself.

As fans, perhaps the best thing we can do is remember that behind every song is a person.

A husband.

A wife.

A parent.

A son.

A daughter.

A human being trying to balance a dream with a life.

The next time you hear that an artist has canceled a tour, stepped away from the road, or taken a break, it might be worth looking beyond the headline.

Because sometimes what looks like quitting is actually surviving.

And in a world that constantly demands more, maybe choosing balance is one of the bravest things an artist can do.

There’s another side to this conversation that we rarely acknowledge.

Many fans look at the legends of country music and say things like, “Artists back then didn’t have these problems.” But the truth is, many of them did. We just didn’t see it.

Some battled addiction. Some struggled with depression. Some lost marriages and families while chasing careers. Some died far too young. Others spent years carrying burdens they never spoke publicly about because the culture of the time expected them to simply keep going.

The difference wasn’t necessarily that the pressure was less. The pressure was different.

Years ago, artists didn’t have social media demanding constant attention. They weren’t expected to create content 24 hours a day. But they often faced relentless touring schedules, little privacy, fewer support systems, and an industry that rarely encouraged conversations about mental health.

Maybe what we’re seeing today isn’t that artists are struggling more than previous generations.

Maybe we’re simply seeing it more clearly.

For decades, many artists suffered in silence. Today, some are finally willing to say, “I’m not okay.”

And perhaps that’s not a sign of weakness.

Perhaps it’s a sign that we’re finally having the conversations we should have been having all along.

The Chris & Sandy Show Take

For years we’ve had the privilege of talking with artists at every level of the industry. One thing we’ve learned is that the people on stage are often carrying burdens the audience never sees.

The music matters.

The shows matter.

But the people creating the music matter most.

If the industry wants great music for the next generation, we may need to rethink what we’re asking artists to sacrifice in order to give it to us.

The post The Hidden Cost of Chasing the Dream appeared first on The Chris & Sandy Show.

Some days in this journey don’t make sense until you step back and realize they make perfect sense.

Yesterday was one of those days.

We lost a major artist opportunity.

The same day, we landed a legend.

That’s the entertainment industry in a nutshell.

Highs and lows, sometimes within hours of each other.

If you’re not built for that mentally, this industry will tear you down fast.

What People See vs What They Don’t

I’ve had people ask me before if I would start this today knowing what I know now.

And to be honest, I’m not sure I would.

Not like this.

Not going after high-level artists and actors in an already crowded space where even celebrities now have their own podcasts too.

Because what most people see are the interviews.

What they don’t see is everything behind them.

The Reality of Outreach

They don’t see the emails.

Every month, I’m sending outreach after outreach.

If I send 200 emails to bigger artists and actors, I might book 2 or 3.

Sometimes less.

Let that sink in.

That means 197 or more times there is no response, no, or silence.

And then I do it again the next month.

And the next.

And the next.

We’ve had guests where it took 6, 7, even 9 months of consistent follow-up just to finally get a yes.

And I’ll be honest, one of those, I think the manager just got tired of seeing my name in their inbox and finally said yes.

That’s the part nobody talks about.

Why We Relate to Rising Artists

And this is also why we connect so deeply with rising & major artists & actors.

Because we understand them.

Not from the outside looking in.

But from walking the same road.

They’re sending emails.

They’re getting ignored.

They’re being told no.

They’re watching others break through while they’re still trying to get someone to even listen or watch.

We know that feeling.

Because as an independent show, just my wife and I building this together, we’ve lived it.

No big team.

No major backing.

No machine behind us.

Just consistency, belief, and a willingness to keep going when nothing made sense.

Breaking Through Isn’t Easy

And I’ll be honest with you.

Breaking through to that next level like that is close to impossible.

Not impossible.

But close.

There are doors that don’t open when you need them to.

There are opportunities that feel right that fall through.

There are moments where you feel like you’re right there, and then it disappears.

The Unexpected Side Nobody Prepares You For

And then there’s the stuff nobody prepares you for.

Tech not working right right before you go live.

Internet issues in the middle of an interview.

Guests not showing up.

Guests canceling last minute after you’ve already promoted the episode.

Schedules falling apart.

Days where everything that could go wrong does.

And even when the interview goes perfect, that’s still not the end of it.

Now comes the some editing.

Making sure the video looks right.

Cutting clips.

Watching it back to make sure it feels right.

Then comes the content side.

Creating thumbnails.

Writing titles and descriptions.

Pulling short clips.

Posting across multiple platforms.

Trying to get the algorithm to even notice it.

Watching something you worked hours on barely move, while something random takes off.

That’s another side people don’t see.

The work doesn’t stop when the interview ends.

In many ways, that’s when another layer of work begins.

And sometimes it goes even deeper than that.

We’ve had several high-profile people we were working on, getting close to booking, and then they passed away before it ever happened.

That changes how you look at all of this.

Because it reminds you how unpredictable both this industry and life really are.

When Life Hits Hard

And then 2022 hit us in a way we weren’t ready for.

We lost my dad.

We lost Sandy’s mom.

Less than 90 days apart.

That crushed us.

By the end of that year, life had piled on in ways we didn’t expect, and we had to put the show on hiatus.

Not because we didn’t care.

Not because we were done.

But because sometimes life hits harder than the vision you’re building.

But even in that season, I knew something.

I wasn’t finished with it yet.

This Is Bigger Than Business

That’s the part about building something like this.

It’s not just business.

It’s life.

And life doesn’t pause just because you’re trying to build something.

There Is No Shortcut

There’s no magic formula.

There’s no shortcut.

There’s no moment where it suddenly becomes easy.

It’s consistency.

Over and over again.

Even when it feels like nothing is happening.

Even when doors aren’t opening.

Even when you’re questioning if it’s even working.

Even when life itself is trying to slow you down.

What 700+ Interviews Taught Us

We’ve now interviewed over 700 guests across the entertainment industry.

Artists. Actors. Creators. People at all levels.

They came from:

• showing up
• following up
• not quitting when it got quiet

And along the way, we’ve learned things that no book or course could have taught us.

We’ve learned that the people who last are not always the most talented, they are the most consistent.

We’ve learned that success almost always comes after a season where nothing looks like it’s working.

We’ve learned that the grind behind the scenes is where everything is actually built.

We’ve learned that relationships matter more than numbers.

We’ve learned that authenticity opens more doors than perfection ever will.

We’ve learned that people connect with real, not polished.

And we’ve learned that timing plays a bigger role than most people want to admit.

This Isn’t for Everyone

This industry is not for the faint of heart.

If you need quick wins, this will break you.

If you can’t handle rejection, this will wear you out.

If you’re not willing to be consistent, this won’t work.

But If You Can Stay

But if you can stay in it.

If you can keep showing up when it doesn’t make sense.

If you can keep building when nobody sees it yet.

If you can keep going when the doors don’t open when you think they should.

If you can keep going even when life hits you in ways you never expected.

That’s where something starts to happen.

Because the same day you lose something you were excited about, you might gain something you never expected.

The Reality

That’s the rollercoaster.

That’s the reality.

That’s the cost of building something in this space.

And for us, we’ve just never stopped.

Still showing up.

Still reaching out.

Still building.

Final Thought

Because at the end of the day, this journey isn’t for everyone.

But for the ones who are willing to do the work, who are willing to stay consistent, who are willing to keep going when it’s hard.

This is where something real gets built.

This isn’t me complaining or hating any part of this. I actually love what we’ve built and wouldn’t trade it. I love the conversations, the people we meet, and the moments we get to be part of.

But loving it doesn’t mean ignoring the reality that comes with it. This path comes with pressure, responsibility, and a level of consistency that most people never see.

And the truth is, I chose this. I chose to keep showing up, to keep building, and to carry everything that comes with it. This is just the real side of what that choice looks like.

– Chris Benton

The post The Reality of Building in the Entertainment Industry (Nobody Talks About This) appeared first on The Chris & Sandy Show.

There was a time in my life when I thought I had it figured out.

Not in a loud, arrogant way… but in a quiet, subtle way that I didn’t even realize at first.

After everything I had been through, after 19 years of addiction, after the mistakes, the pain, and finally finding freedom… I remember thinking something like,

“If I could come out of all that, why can’t they?”

And while I may not have always said it out loud, there were moments early on where my mindset leaned in that direction.

“What’s their excuse?”

Looking back now, I can see it clearly.

That wasn’t strength.

That wasn’t wisdom.

That was immaturity in my healing.

The Part We Don’t Talk About

When people first come out of a broken season, especially addiction, there’s often this phase where everything feels clear.

You see what you did wrong.
You see what needs to change.
You feel like if people would just do what you did, they could get out too.

But what I didn’t understand back then was this:

Not everyone’s ruins look the same.

Not everyone’s starting point is the same.
Not everyone’s wounds are the same.
Not everyone’s mindset is the same.
Not everyone even knows where their struggle is really coming from.

And I didn’t understand that because I hadn’t fully understood my own story yet.

What God Started Showing Me Over Time

As the years went by, God began to soften something in me.

He began to show me that my past wasn’t something to stand on.

It was something to learn from.

When I started really looking back at my life, I didn’t just see addiction.

I saw layers.

I saw childhood wounds.
I saw insecurity.
I saw the need for approval.
I saw broken thinking.
I saw moments where I didn’t know how to process what I was feeling.

I saw things I never healed, I just covered them.

And when I saw that, everything changed.

Because now when I look at someone struggling…

I don’t see someone who just needs to “try harder.”

I see someone who might be carrying something deeper than anyone around them understands.

From “What’s Your Excuse?” to “I Get It”

There’s a big difference between those two mindsets.

“What’s your excuse?” pushes people down.

“I get it” pulls people up.

When I look at my past now, I don’t see something that puts me above anyone.

I see something that reminds me how easy it is to fall.

I see pain.
I see broken thinking.
I see confusion.
I see moments where I didn’t know how to get out.

So instead of asking someone why they can’t change…

I’d rather sit with them long enough to understand why they’re stuck.

Because people who are struggling don’t need someone pointing at them.

They need someone reaching for them.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

We live in a time where it’s easy to judge.

Easy to compare.
Easy to call people out.
Easy to say what someone “should” be doing.

But real change rarely comes from pressure.

It comes from understanding.

It comes from truth, delivered with grace.

It comes from someone who has been there saying,

“You’re not crazy. You’re not alone. Let’s walk through this.”

Why I Wrote Rising from the RUINS

This is exactly why I wrote Rising from the RUINS.

Because I’ve learned that what we see on the surface is rarely the real story.

Ruins don’t happen overnight.

They’re built over time through things we never healed, lies we believed, and pain we didn’t know how to deal with.

That book isn’t about pointing fingers.

It’s about understanding how we got where we are

and how God can rebuild it, piece by piece.

And I’ll be honest about something.

If you connect more with people who use shame and guilt to push others down…

this book probably isn’t for you.

Because that’s not what this is.

And it’s not who I ever want to become.

Lessons I’ve Learned Through This Journey

1. Healing doesn’t automatically create empathy

At first, it can create clarity… but empathy takes time.

2. Everyone’s story has layers you can’t see

What looks like a simple problem is usually something much deeper.

3. Shame rarely leads to real change

It might create temporary behavior shifts, but it doesn’t heal anything.

4. Your past is meant to help you understand, not elevate you

If your story makes you feel above others, you’ve missed the point.

5. Grace is what pulls people forward

Not pressure. Not guilt. Not comparison.

Final Thought

My past didn’t make me better than anyone.

It made me more aware of how broken I was, and how much grace I needed.

And if God can pull me out of that,

Then I’m not here to judge someone still in it.

I’m here to meet them in it.

Because none of us need more shame.

We need grace.
We need truth.
And sometimes we just need someone willing to say,

“You’re not alone… and you’re not too far gone.”

— Chris Benton

The post From Shame to Empathy: What My Past Taught Me About Helping Others appeared first on The Chris & Sandy Show.

When I first started writing Rising from the RUINS, I thought I was writing a book about addiction, recovery, and faith.

I thought it would be a testimony about the 19 years I spent battling drugs and alcohol, the mistakes I made, and how God changed my life.

And yes, that is part of the story.

But somewhere along the way, the book became something deeper than I ever planned.

It became a book about identity.

It became a book about broken foundations.

It became a book about the things that happen in life long before addiction ever shows up.

It became a book about how a person can spend years chasing success, approval, relationships, or even God, and still feel like something inside isn’t right.

And I didn’t plan that.

That realization happened while I was writing.

There is actually a chapter in the book called Identity Crisis, and that chapter was never in the original outline. It showed up because I finally saw something I had never fully understood before. My addiction was not the root of my life falling apart. My identity was.

That was one of the biggest moments in the entire writing process.

And once I saw that, everything in my life started making more sense.

The childhood wounds.
The insecurity.
The need for approval.
The constant chasing.
The feeling like I had to prove myself.
The feeling like I was never enough.

All of it connected.

Another chapter that was never planned was the chapter about the ripple effect of infidelity. That one was hard to write, but it became one of the most honest chapters in the whole book. When I looked back at my life, I could see how patterns repeat when wounds never heal. Things that happened when I was young didn’t stay in the past. They followed me into adulthood, into marriage, into decisions I never thought I would make.

That was a hard realization, but it was also one of the most important ones.

That is when I really understood what the RUINS meant.

The RUINS framework in the book stands for
Recognize the Ruins
Understand the Impact
Identify the Lies
Navigate the Healing
Stand in Redemption

When I first wrote that framework, I thought I was describing recovery.

Now I realize I was describing my entire life.

Ruins don’t happen overnight.
They happen slowly, over time, through things we never deal with, lies we believe, and pain we learn to hide instead of heal.

That is what this book really became about.

Not just addiction.
Not just faith.
Not just mistakes.

It became about how a life gets built on a broken foundation, and how God can rebuild it piece by piece when you finally surrender.

One thing that surprised me while writing this book is how many parts of my life had the same pattern. BMX, sound systems, trucks, business, MLM, chasing dreams, even parts of ministry. Every time I thought the next thing would make me feel whole. Every time I thought the next thing would fix what I felt inside.

And every time, it didn’t.

That is why this book is not just for people who struggled with addiction.

It is for anyone who has ever felt like something inside them was missing and they didn’t know why.

It is for people who feel like they should be happy, but aren’t.
It is for people who feel like they have made too many mistakes.
It is for people who believe in God but still feel broken.
It is for people who spent years trying to prove themselves.
It is for people who feel like life did not turn out how they thought it would.
It is for people who think it might be too late to rebuild.

One of the biggest lessons I learned while writing Rising from the RUINS is this.

Addiction was not the only thing I needed freedom from.

I needed freedom from the lies I believed about myself.
I needed freedom from the need to prove I mattered.
I needed freedom from the shame I carried for years.
I needed freedom from the idea that my value came from success, attention, or what other people thought.

And that freedom did not come overnight.

It came through surrender.

It came through obedience.

It came through facing things I avoided for years.

It came through letting God rebuild parts of me that I thought were too far gone.

Another lesson I learned is that healing is not always loud.

Sometimes it is slow.
Sometimes it is quiet.
Sometimes it feels like nothing is happening.
Sometimes it feels like you are going backwards.

But when you look back, you realize God was working the whole time.

That is why I believe this book can help more people than I first thought it would.

Not because my story is special.

But because the patterns in my story are not unique.

We may not all have the same ruins, but we all have something in our past that shaped how we see ourselves.

We all have lies we believed.
We all have pain we never dealt with.
We all have things we tried to use to fill a hole inside.

And we all need redemption in some way.

Rising from the RUINS is not a book about a perfect life.

It is a book about a real life.

A life with mistakes.
A life with regrets.
A life with broken seasons.
A life with faith that wasn’t always strong.
A life with moments I am not proud of.
A life that had to be rebuilt more than once.

But it is also a book about hope.

Hope that it is not too late.
Hope that God can still rebuild what feels destroyed.
Hope that your past does not have to define your future.
Hope that healing is possible, even if it takes time.

And if this book does anything, I hope it helps people realize this.

Your ruins are not the end of your story.

Sometimes they are the place where the real rebuilding begins.

Chris Benton
Rising from the RUINS
Coming soon on The Chris & Sandy Show

The post What Rising from the RUINS Has Become and Why This Book Is Different Than I Expected appeared first on The Chris & Sandy Show.

Most people talk about the big decisions that change their life.
The big moves.
The big risks.
The big moments.

But the longer I live, the more I realize something most people overlook.

It’s not usually the big decisions that change your life.

It’s the small ones.

Small decisions don’t feel important at the time.
They feel random.
They feel insignificant.
Sometimes they even feel like accidents.

But when you look back years later, you realize those small decisions were the very things that led you to the biggest moments of your life.

I know this because my entire life has been shaped by small decisions.

The message that changed everything

Almost 24 years ago, on February 2, 2002, I was on a Christian singles website just looking for someone to talk to. I was bored more than anything else, and I usually wouldn’t even message someone unless they had a profile picture.

That night I made a small decision that didn’t seem important at all.

I messaged Sandy even though she didn’t have a picture.

On her side, she made a small decision too.
She was only on the site at that moment because she had logged in to delete an email someone had sent her.

Two small decisions.

That’s all it took.

What if I had stuck to my normal rule and not messaged her?
What if she had logged off five minutes earlier?
What if either of us had decided not to respond?

We never would have met.

Sixteen days after we met online, we set our wedding date.
Yes, people thought we were crazy.
But we knew God was in it.

That one small decision led to a marriage that has lasted decades, two kids, a life we never could have planned, and a story that is still being written.

People think the big decision was getting married.

But the truth is, the big decision never happens without the small ones first.

The decision that saved my life

Another small decision changed my life in a way I never expected.

After 19 years of addiction, I reached a point where I knew I couldn’t fix myself anymore. There wasn’t a big moment with lights flashing and music playing. There was just a quiet moment where I finally said, “God, I can’t do this without You.”

That was a small decision.

It didn’t feel dramatic at the time.
It didn’t feel powerful.
It just felt honest.

But that small decision started the process that led to my life being rebuilt.

Looking back now, that moment was bigger than any decision I ever made in business, relationships, or anything else.

It proves something I believe with all my heart now.

Every miracle in my life started with a small act of obedience.

The show that almost never started

Years later, another small decision changed everything again.

In 2020, Sandy and I decided to start a show. We didn’t have a plan. We didn’t have connections. We didn’t have money coming in from it. We just felt like we should do it.

We almost didn’t start.

It would have been easy to say we were too busy.
It would have been easy to say no one would watch.
It would have been easy to wait for the perfect time.

Instead, we made a small decision to try.

That small decision turned into hundreds of interviews, conversations with people from all walks of life, and a platform that ended up shaping our future in ways we never saw coming.

Today, so much of what I feel called to do traces back to that one simple choice.

Not a big decision.

A small one.

Even the hard moments can lead somewhere

Recently I had to delete hundreds of videos from YouTube after getting a copyright strike. It was frustrating, and honestly I didn’t even know exactly what mistake I made.

But after I cleared everything out, I realized something.

All that clutter had been slowing me down.

Sometimes the small decisions that change your life don’t feel exciting.
Sometimes they feel like loss.
Sometimes they feel like starting over.

But even those moments can create space for something new.

Looking back, so many of the things that felt like setbacks were actually turning points.

Small decisions build your future

We like to think life changes in one big moment.

But most of the time, life changes one small decision at a time.

A message you almost didn’t send.
A prayer you almost didn’t pray.
A step you almost didn’t take.
A conversation you almost avoided.
A risk you almost didn’t try.

Those small choices stack up.

They lead you to the big moments.

You can’t go from big decision to big decision.

You go from little decision to little decision,
until one day you look back and realize those small steps led you exactly where you were supposed to be.

Trust the small steps

If you feel like the decisions you’re making right now don’t matter, they do.

If you feel like the step in front of you is too small to make a difference, it isn’t.

Every major turning point in my life was preceded by a series of small choices that didn’t seem important at the time.

So take the step.
Send the message.
Make the call.
Have the conversation.
Pray the prayer.
Try the thing you keep feeling led to try.

You never know which small decision God is going to use to change everything.

The person you are today was built by the small decisions you made yesterday.

And the person you become tomorrow will be built by the small decisions you make today.

— Chris Benton

The post Can Small Decisions Change Your Life? appeared first on The Chris & Sandy Show.