Three Years Apart, Will Snyder taking the stage at Whitley Co. Fair

On Wednesday, July 13, the 2022 Whitley County Fair will open up festivities with a day of admission-free fun at the fairgrounds in Williamsburg. Several activities are being planned for opening day, including free live music courtesy of Three Years Apart and Will Snyder.

Three Years Apart is made up of Chandler Powell (vocals, rhythm guitar), Cooper Powell (bass), Hayden Minton (drums) and Camden Skidmore (lead guitar). All four band members call Williamsburg home, with Chandler Powell graduating from Whitley County High School in 2019, Skidmore graduating from Williamsburg High School this past year, and Minton, a former student at Whitley County, also graduating in 2022. Cooper Powell will be a senior at WCHS this fall.

“Three Years Apart is a name that we came up with in high school as kind of a joke,” Chandler explained when asked about the origin of the band’s name. “Basically, it was the name of a made-up band that me and my friends came up with, and it just kind of stuck.”

Three Years Apart have spent plenty of time on stage during the last couple of years, gaining experience while playing in local restaurants, and at several popular festivals in the region. They also performed a show at Wildcat Harley-Davidson in London recently, and are scheduled for three dates (July 20, Aug. 3 and Aug. 17) in the Live Music Nights series hosted by Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.

“We like to play songs with a lot of positive energy,” Powell said. “We don’t really like to play any sad songs, because there’s too much of that out there already.”

Three Years Apart will cover many hit songs from all genres of rock, both old and new, but they also write and perform original songs as well. In fact, they will be releasing a new single in the near future, just before they release their very first studio album across all major streaming platforms.

“The ultimate goal is to make it past just being a local cover band,” Powell explained. “We will always cover songs that we know and love, but we also don’t want to be known for just covers. We want people to know our original music as well.”

Opening for Three Years Apart on July 13 will be Will Snyder, winner of the 2008 Can You Duet competition, which aired on CMT. Snyder went on to enjoy success in the country music world as one half of the duo Caitlin & Will, releasing a single under Columbia Records called “Address in the Stars” that was a top 40 hit in 2009.

The duo was short-lived, however, deciding to go their separate ways shortly after the success of “Address in the Stars.” Snyder chose to walk away from performing at that point, mainly focusing on songwriting, and singing at the occasional charity event when asked. These days, he is using his expertise to offer guidance to Powell and his bandmates as they chase their own dreams of success in the music industry.

“Everything just lined up perfectly between me and them,” said Snyder, an Ohio native who now resides in London. “I met them through some friends, and thank God for it. I’ve had a blast working with them in the studio, and getting to be creative.”

“I haven’t really worked with a band in this way before,” Snyder continued. “But after I checked out their music, I had a lot of ideas for them. We booked some studio time, and it just went from there. It has been really cool. I am proud of them and what they’re doing.”

Music fans interested in checking out Snyder and Three Years Apart should make their way to the Whitley County Fairgrounds at 5 p.m. next Wednesday, July 13. There will be other activities that visitors can enjoy free of charge until the music begins.

To hear songs by Three Years Apart, search for the band by name on your preferred streaming platform, and on Youtube.com. Music by Caitlin & Will can also be found there as well.