The Grammy for Best New Artist is an “all-genre” category, and who better fits that description than nominee The War and Treaty? The music of the power duo covers everything: country, gospel, rock, R&B and Americana.
But Michael Trotter Jr. and his wife Tanya Trotter have their own name for the music they create. “It’s the sound of our love,” Tanya says.
romantic? Of course. But it’s also a fact: The couple knows they wouldn’t be where they are today if they hadn’t added their marriage to their musical equation.
They are currently in the midst of an explosive career — with two Grammys, as well as previous ACM and CMA nominations; performances at the CMA, ACM, Grammy and Emmy Awards; a pair of trophies for Americana duo of the year; and billing with Chris Stapleton, John Legend and Brandi Carlile, among others.
Together, the Trotters create such a musical force that perhaps the most puzzling aspect of their professional partnership is that they didn’t sing together—even in their own living rooms—until their third year of marriage.
ACM performance
“I think we were so captivated by each other’s personalities and lives, not really the talent,” Michael, 41, tells PEOPLE. “Talent somehow remained in the background.”
Perhaps more importantly, Tanya, 50, gave up her singing career long ago. She achieved early success, first making a splash in 1993 with a duet with Lauryn Hill in the hit comedy Sister, act 2. She then signed to two labels, including Sean “Diddy” Combs, and had a Top 40 R&B single. But her momentum waned over time and by the early 2000s she had given up on her dream. When she heard her future husband perform at a Maryland arts festival in 2010, she was working in anonymity as a worship leader.
“Sister Act 2”
At the time, Michael, an army veteran recently returned from a second tour of duty in Iraq, was trying to establish a career as a solo singer. “I was just surviving,” he recalls. “I went from day to day, from place to place. I couldn’t figure it out.”
But Tanya heard the joy and sincerity in his voice that immediately drew her to him. A love affair soon followed, and a year later they got married. Michael continued to pursue his career, and Tanya says she was content to support her new husband’s aspirations. Before long, she was also taking care of their young son, born in 2011 and named Legend (yes, after the artist his parents have since toured with).
“I always knew I heard God say this is what he needed,” Tanya says of helping Michael, including being his manager at one point. “I felt there was going to be something on the other side of it. I didn’t know what it was.”
In 2014, Michael wrote a duet for Tanya’s brother, also an aspiring musician. The intention was for Tanya to provide the second voice on the demo; when it came time to cut it, the brother was stuck at work, so the husband and wife decided to do it themselves. This was the first time they’d combined their voices – but they hadn’t heard the magic themselves. A friend did when she listened to the recording.
Tanya recalls, “She asked, ‘Do you hear this? You have to do this together.’”
The Trotters, however, did not jump at the idea. Michael explains why, recalling legendary duos – Sonny and Cher, Ike and Tina Turner, the Judds – and noting that they all had a commanding voice. The pair’s demo was intended as a one-off. Could they really build a career on two alpha voices?
“We knew we could sing individually,” says Michael, “but could we do it together? How does it look?”
CMA performance
Ultimately, they found their role model in the Civil Wars, the celebrated Americana duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White, who deftly navigated a similar perilous path during their 2008-2014 partnership.
“They’re so fluid,” Michael says of the Civil Wars footage. “If she goes left, he’s already there without her even knowing she’s going there. So how do you do it with your power, strength and skill?”
The answer, they found, was to bring the intimacy of their relationship into their music. “We realized that in order to succeed, we had to put our lives into it,” says Michael. “We had to dig really deep.”
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Tanya and Michael Trotter from The War and Treaty.
Umm Nashville
Despite her initial hesitation, Tanya soon realized that joining forces meant reviving what she thought had been extinguished: “I found the light I was looking for to illuminate me with the love of music.”
Both Trotters have songwriting backgrounds, Michael’s being particularly prolific; share songwriting credit for all but one track on their 2023 major label debut album, Love game. “Blank Page,” which they performed at the ACMs, earned them their second Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Song.
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Their relationship, says Michael, is his primary inspiration for writing: “A lot of our songs are very spiritual and very symbolic of what we’re going through, what we’ve been through, or what we’ve come out of.”
The verses offer the couple only one language of love. Their reliance on multiple genres gives them other ways to express the contours of their relationship. “We have a sound that can fit into every moment of life,” says Michael.
Even the duo’s name reflects the impetus and appeal of marriage: Fittingly, “The War and Treaty” is the result of a fight over what to call each other.
Having found a home in the US market and, more recently, expanding nationally, the pair have slowly but surely built a loyal following and benefited from crucial early support, most notably from legendary Nashville producer Buddy Miller and black artists Rissi Palmer, Valerie June and Mickey Guyton. Influential figures such as Legend, Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osborne and Jason Isbell have since jumped on the Trotter bandwagon. Zach Bryan gave them a turbo boost by asking them to collaborate on “Hey Driver,” a standout track from his latest album, and since then they’ve seen their streaming numbers grow exponentially.
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The War and Treaty perform at the CMA Awards in November 2023.
Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty
“Zach just took our career and said, ‘Let’s take it up a notch,'” says Michael gratefully. “He said, ‘Where’s my light? I’m going to light it up here.’”
Based in Nashville since 2018, the Trotters have spent the past year mostly on tour, bringing along their son, who is now 12 and homeschooled. They have also been taking advantage of the high-profile television opportunities that are increasingly coming their way. In addition to appearances at the ACM and CMA Awards, these include a tribute to Stapleton at the ACM Honors, a tribute to Patti LaBelle on CMT’s “Smashing Glass” special, an appearance on the CMA Christmas special, and most recently their performance at the Emmy Awards with Charlie Puth. More often than not, their stage performances evoke the same reaction, bringing the audience to their feet.
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The audience is not the only one in awe of the Trotters’ vocal abilities. Husband and wife are each other’s biggest fans. Michael’s stirring falsetto actually sets his range higher than Tanya’s. “Sometimes I forget the text because I’m just looking at it,” she says. “I’m supposed to be singing, and I’m wondering, did he just hit that note?”
As they look toward the Grammys, Michael says they just want to enjoy the experience without any expectations. Tanya worries most about what to wear. Michael is most excited about music director Clive Davis’ annual pre-party, where he will sing with Josh Groban. Nominations are, of course, another “springboard”.
A lot more awaits them: a new album (now being recorded), more tours with Stapleton and also with Bryan. There is even a movie being made about their life with John Legend as producer.
Through it all, the couple remains grounded, making sure their marriage is at the center of their lives.
“To me,” says Michael, “music means absolutely nothing if I lose sight of it and forget that it’s my wife. She is my everything. These love songs I write are about her. It facilitates partnership because we are partners in life. As long as you keep that in mind, you can’t go wrong.”
Tanya agrees with her husband: “Being a solo artist and then entering a duo — not only with an incredible genius of an artist, but also an incredible person you’re married to — I think you learn what life is all about. And life is a balance. Life is a partnership.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education