The War and Treaty—husband and wife duo Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter—have been in the music business longer than people realize, yet they seem to just now be getting the recognition they deserve. The Trotters recently opened up to Variety about the slow road to stardom, working with Zach Bryan, and how they ended up on country music’s biggest label, among other topics.
The two are nominated at the Grammys for Best New Artist, even thought they have four albums and two EPs out already. However, in the past couple of years they started gaining traction in the industry despite already being well-established with a devoted fanbase for the past 10 years. When asked about how they felt about being nominated in the new artist category, Tanya answered for both of them.
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“We have nine lives. I love it!” she began. “You’re always being introduced to new people, and I think that’s the beauty of music. It’s a living organism… It’s funny to see the fans online. They’re like ‘New? We’ve been following ’em for nine years.’”
[Get Tickets to See The War and Treaty Perform With Zach Bryan & Chris Stapleton]
The War and Treaty Talk Touring with Chris Stapleton
Michael and Tanya were on the road with Chris Stapleton last year, and just on sight, it doesn’t seem like the two acts would mesh together. But, as Michael eloquently noted, “It’s all just music.” He spoke about how we’re “taught to identify differently,” how looking at Stapleton and hearing Stapleton are two different experiences.
“But it’s kind of expected when you look like us,” said Michael of their soulful musical style. “When you look at a Chris Stapleton, who looks like he just walks straight out of the mountains with this long, big beard and this cowboy hat on, you think he’s gonna do something else, and here he is, dripping and oozing with soul. Really, he’s not even a country artist; really, he is a blues artist, posing.”
Michael continued, “The joy of touring with Chris Stapleton is you get to learn from Chris Stapleton. It’s got nothing to do with his voice. It’s got to do with him as a person and who he really is. He just commands your attention with his quietness. That’s deep.”
[RELATED: A Look at the Best New Artist Grammy Nominees]
On Working and Becoming Friends with Zach Bryan
The War and Treaty have also been featured on a song with Zach Bryan, another “up-and-coming” artist who has been in the game for a while as well. They collaborated with Bryan on the song “Hey Driver” from his self-titled album. When asked how that song came about, Michael began, “That came about because we were at the ACMs together.”
Michael revealed that Bryan “did not want to be there. He did not enjoy the ACMs,” but when The War and Treaty got on stage to perform, “it ignited him.” Bryan insisted that they had to be on his album.
“And that week he was sending the song, and he was like, ‘Can you voice-memo this back? Because I just want to hear how it sounds.’ And then the little bastard put it up on his goddamn socials.” Michael laughed, and continued, “We became friends after that, and, and we went to Philadelphia to record that song.”
Michael plays the piano in that song as well, which Tanya explained he had to be convinced to do. In the opening of the song, Bryan can be heard saying, “This is your song, Mike.”
“Michael comes in and Zach is like, ‘Man, I’m working out these chords, and let’s see what we can come up with together,’” Tanya recalled. “So they started playing it, and Michael was kind of apprehensive. He didn’t really want to do it, but we ended up doing it. And so while we’re recording, Zach’s on the other side of the booth and we’re inside, and he’s like, ‘Come on Michael, come on Michael. Give it to me. This is your song.’”
“It was such a fun experience, and we’re very grateful for him shining his light on us,” Michael concluded. “And yeah, it changed the game for us.”
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