After performing in groups during various singing competitions over the past seven years, it wasn’t until recently that 16-year-old Chandler Berardi and 18-year-old Taylor Witten made the decision to perform together as a duo for the first time.

“It’s hard to find people that sing the same kind of genre that you do,” Berardi explains. “But I’m into country and Taylor is into country so we knew it’d be a good fit.”

“We do have a pretty similar sound,” agrees Witten. “Although she’s much more of a powerhouse than I am!” she laughs.

On August 26, the two girls came together to perform on the Bell Stage in Harmony Square as part of Empire Communities weekly musical event. With Chandler playing guitar and both girls singing together, they played an hour and a half set of popular songs ranging from Adele to Maroon 5.

Although both girls performed like old pros, it wasn’t always easy for Taylor Witten to find the inspiration she needed to sing.

“I had a daughter about a year ago. She’s the one that has put the inspiration back into me,” says Witten. “I gave up on a lot of stuff for awhile, but now I’m singing again and actually having a really great time.”

While inspiration was at one point hard to find for Witten, the other half of the young duo, Berardi, finds that it comes naturally to her.

“Music has always just kind of been around me. My family is so musically oriented, so I always use my family and friends and everything around me to inspire me.”

Although the girls are unsure of when their next performance will be, after seeing the appreciative audience gathered in Harmony Square it won’t be long until they share their sound with Brantford again.

“It’s just something I do for me.” Berardi explains. “It makes me happy and it’s something I hope we continue to do in the future.”