Every journey begins with a simple step.
Ours began with a question.
Back in 2014, I (Chris) started connecting with country artists on Facebook. At the time, Sandy and I had been writing songs together, leaning into her childhood passion for songwriting. Even though neither of us played instruments, we wrote over 300 songs and lyrics together, discovering a shared love for creativity and storytelling along the way.
As I built friendships with artists in Nashville, an idea began to form. What if we created a platform where artists could share their stories?
That idea became New Country Buzz.
The First Interview
One day I posted on Facebook asking if any artist would be willing to be our first interview guest.
A Facebook friend named Allison Steel from the duo 2 Steel Girls commented and asked what I had in mind.
That moment changed everything.
Allison agreed to be our first interview, and she was incredible. At the time we weren’t running a podcast yet. I would record the conversation and then manually transcribe the entire interview to publish on New Country Buzz.
What people don’t realize is that those 30–40 minute interviews often took three or four hours to transcribe.
But even through the work, something special was happening. We were discovering how much we loved hearing people’s stories.
A Moment We’ll Never Forget
One of the highlights of those early days came on February 10, 2015, when we interviewed a rising artist named Kelsea Ballerini.
Her first single was sitting at #28 on the charts, but during the interview we told her we believed the song would go all the way to #1.
Not long after, it did.
Moments like that reminded us that sometimes you can sense when an artist is about to break through.
When the Dream Paused
Later in 2015, life circumstances and the workload of manually transcribing interviews led us to step away from New Country Buzz.
But even though the site closed, the dream never really left us.
For years I continued checking the domain name, and when it remained available, I felt like it was a reminder that maybe the story wasn’t finished yet.
The Return
In 2019, that pull became impossible to ignore.
Sandy and I jumped back in, reconnecting with many of the relationships we had built years earlier. To our surprise, those same people welcomed us back with open arms and encouraged us to continue.
Not long after, the vision evolved into something new.
On January 3, 2020—my late mom’s birthday—we launched The Chris & Sandy Show as a dedication to her.
What started as simple interviews soon became something much bigger.
When the World Changed
When the world shut down in 2020, artists and actors suddenly had time to talk. We leaned into that moment and began hosting conversations with creators across the entertainment industry.
In 2020 alone we recorded over 300 interviews, followed by another 200 in 2021.
Those years helped shape what the show would become.
Where We Are Today
Over the years our journey has grown far beyond what we ever imagined that day Allison Steel said yes.
Today Chris and Sandy have conducted more than 700 interviews with artists, actors, authors, entertainers, and creators from across the industry.
Along the way there have been unforgettable moments.
One came when legendary radio host John Tesh looked into the camera during our interview and said he chose to come on our show because of the reputation we had built in the industry.
Another came when actress Brooke Burke, after hearing that Steve Harvey was one of our dream guests, pulled out her phone during the interview and recorded a video message encouraging him to come on the show as well.
Moments like those remind us that relationships and authenticity matter.
A Family Show
Over time the show has also become something even more meaningful.
It’s become a family experience.
Our son Lil Chris often joins interviews to ask a few questions, something many guests say is their favorite part of the show.
And now our daughter Katelynn has begun appearing as well, often opening interviews with a simple question that instantly helps guests relax.
More Than a Show
The Chris & Sandy Show has never just been about interviews.
It’s about stories.
Stories of perseverance.
Stories of creativity.
Stories of faith, purpose, and the journey behind success.
Looking back, we never imagined that one Facebook post asking for our first guest would lead to over a decade of conversations and more than 700 interviews.
But that’s the beauty of starting something before you know where it will lead.
And as long as there are stories to tell, we plan to keep listening.
How These Conversations Shaped a Bigger Story
Over the years, the conversations we’ve had on The Chris & Sandy Show have done more than introduce us to incredible artists, actors, and creators. They’ve also shaped the way we see the world.
After listening to hundreds of stories about perseverance, setbacks, breakthroughs, and purpose, one theme kept appearing again and again: the most powerful stories are often born from the hardest seasons of life.
Those conversations helped inspire Chris’s upcoming book, Rising from the RUINS, which shares his personal journey through addiction, redemption, and rebuilding life through faith and obedience.
In many ways, the show and the book are connected by the same heartbeat. Both are built on the belief that every person has a story worth telling and that sometimes the most meaningful part of that story is not the success, but the road it took to get there.
