Very few musicians have a backstory as unique and inspiring as that of Michael and Tanya Trotter, who record and perform together as the War and Treaty.
Since their 2018 studio debut album Healing Tide, the husband and wife have taken critics and music fans by storm with their powerful mix of gospel blues, country, pop and R&B.
Recent accomplishments range from performing onstage at the 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony and gaining two Grammy nominations for their 2023 album Lover’s Game to recording their latest album, Plus One, at Muscle Shoals’ FAME Studio, which was home to legendary artists including Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James and Otis Redding.
All of which is a far cry from what they went through before they met after playing solo sets at a charity event called the Love Festival.
Michael’s backstory goes back to his years as an enlisted man in the army during the Iraq War. At one point, he and his fellow soldiers were encamped at, of all places, one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces, where he began playing what was believed to be the dictator’s piano. It was there that his commander, Robert Scheetz, encouraged him to keep at it.
When his captain was killed in combat, Michael wrote his first song, “Dear Martha,” in his honor. He went on to play it at USO shows and soldier’s memorial services. The duo has also played it at War and Treaty concerts.
“Every time we do it, I feel the winds of the spirits of those I’m singing about, those that have gone on to march in that beautiful army in the sky,” said Michael, who suffered from PTSD well into the couple’s marriage.
Tanya’s musical history, meanwhile, dates back to the age of 8, when her older brother sang the song “Be Grateful” up at the pulpit to an enthusiastic congregation. Not long after that she realized she wanted to be a singer.
“Now that I’m older, I realize it was an out-of-body experience,” said Tanya, who found success during the 1990s as an actress and singer under the name Tanya Blount. “It was super spiritual, and it drove me to want to do what I do today, which is to make people feel good when they walk away from a War and Treaty concert, because it’s healing. And that’s what I had felt. I think that day I became a healer.”
Currently the War and Treaty, who now live in Nashville, are touring behind Plus One. The recording of the album was particularly special, both for the quality of the performances and the history of a studio where so many legends have recorded.
As Michael put it, “We felt the presence and the spiritual guidance of what was, what is and what is to come.”
The album also features “Love Like Whiskey,” a co-write with the country superstar Miranda Lambert, which is a rare thing for the duo to do.
“We’re very careful, because we write so personal,” Michael said. “We tend to do best when we’re by ourselves. But we wanted something very specific that wasn’t technically in our wheelhouse. And Miranda wanted to do something with us, and we wanted to do something with her.”
Lambert even went so far as to send a pair of boots to Tanya upon their arrival. “They’re wonderful, I love them,” Tanya said. “And I also love the note that she sent welcoming us to the city, which was very personal.”
Michael added, “We’re very grateful to Miss Lambert.”
While the group has performed at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium multiple times and made their country influences more prominent on this latest album, they’ve still gotten little airplay on country radio. Few Black artists have.
“The narrative has always been pushed that Blacks are just arriving into country music, when the truth of the matter is it started with Blacks,” Michael said. “Country music is a form of folk music, which is a form of spiritual music, which is a form of slave conversation. Those were hidden communication between slaves, whether they were in the field or they were on the bottom of a boat being carried to some place without their permission.”
To illustrate the industry’s history of narrowmindedness, he recalled how it would not allow country artist Barbara Mandrell to record with superstar songwriter/producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
“They were lined up to produce a great country album for Barbara Mandrell. She wanted it. They wanted it. The label did not want it,” Michael said. “So Charlie Pride is a fortunate one, Darius Rucker is a fortunate one. Rissi Palmer, Mickey Guyton, Jimmy Allen, Linda Martell—these are fortunate ones whose art form was accepted by whites. I think the more we exist, the more the narrative gets cleaned up.”
The Trotters also broke ground in 2023 by being the first Black duo nominated for the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music Duo of the Year awards.
As fans discover “Plus One,” the War and Treaty remain dedicated to bringing all people together, especially at live performances. “They feel loved, they feel cared for, they feel like somebody singing strictly for them,” Michael said. “They feel the hope around the entire room for 90 minutes. Tanya and I are united to unite others, and that’s the Church of the War and Treaty. No judgment. All are welcome.”
As for getting through these troubled times, the couple continues to find strength in each other and in their faith. So what advice would they offer for those who don’t have those things?
“We believe in human connection,” Michael said. “Our good friend Lukas Nelson, in the pandemic, he put out a song called ‘Turn Off the News and Build a Garden.’ If you can’t connect physically with another human being, connect with life, period. Go outside barefoot, stand in the grass or in the dirt or on the asphalt. Look up to the sky and just breathe. Just breathe for a minute. Connect with nature, connect with life, connect with animals. So that’s my advice, to start there and then let it flow over into the rest of the areas of life.”
The War and Treaty performs at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, on Oct. 3 at 4:20pm. hardlystrictlybluegrass.com
