The War And Treaty

As the War and Treaty, spouses Michael Trotter, Jr. and Tanya Blount make impassioned soul music that draws on traditional folk, country, R&B, and spirituals, often combining them all. After winning fans with their dynamic live shows, the duo’s 2018 debut, Healing Tide, made a strong run on several Billboard charts and earned acclaim throughout the roots music community. They delivered a follow-up album, Hearts Town, in 2020, and made their UMG Nashville debut with Lover's Game in 2023, the latter of which earned them two Grammy-nominations. Initially based in Albion, Michigan, Trotter and Blount briefly performed together as simply Trotter & Blount before changing their moniker to the War and Treaty in 2015. Word of their rousing, animated performances spread, and they were soon getting booked on the folk festival circuit and touring the country. In 2017, they signed with Strong World Entertainment, which released their debut EP, Down to the River, that July. Two months later, they were named one of the 20 best acts at AmericanaFest by Rolling Stone. The duo also spent part of that year writing and rehearsing in Nashville with a backing band. The War and Treaty continued to tour heavily while preparing their full-length debut. In January 2018, they shared the stage with John Prine at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival, and in June, they made their Bonnaroo festival debut. Their first album, Healing Tide, arrived on Strong World in August 2018. It reached the Top 30 of the Billboard Heatseekers and independent albums charts. By then, they had already made fans like Emmylou Harris, Sam Bush, and Buddy Miller, among others, each of whom appeared on the record. Miller also produced. For their follow-up, the band worked at Nashville’s Blackbird Studio, co-producing the album together and enlisting friends like Jason Isbell, Jerry Douglas, and Chris Eldridge to make guest appearances. Their second LP, Hearts Town, was released in September 2020 by the War and Treaty Corporation in partnership with Rounder Records and Concord Music Group and landed on the same charts. An appearance on the Academy of Country Music Awards in which they accompanied Dierks Bentley on a cover U2′s “Pride (In the Name of Love)” followed in April 2021, amidst near-constant touring. In mid-2022, the duo signed with Universal Music Group Nashville. Later that year, on November 9, they performed at the Country Music Association Awards alongside Brothers Osborne and released an EP titled Blank Page. It was produced by Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, the Highwomen). The full-length Lover's Game, which featured four tracks from the EP, appeared in March 2023. Also produced by Cobb, the intimate ten-song set saw the pair deliver a genre-blending collection of songs about “love and the intention of love.” By the end of the year, they had picked up two Grammy-nominations, including Best New Artist and Best American Roots Song for “Blank Page.” ~ Marcy Donelson