The War and Treaty

Spouses Michael Trotter, Jr. and Tanya Blount perform as the War and Treaty, crafting impassioned soul that weaves together traditional folk, country, R&B, and spirituals in a single sound. Their high-energy stage presence quickly built a following, which helped their debut album Healing Tide achieve solid placements across multiple Billboard rankings in 2018 while earning praise across the roots-music scene. A second release, Hearts Town, followed in 2020, and the duo made their UMG Nashville bow with Lover's Game in 2023, an effort that secured two Grammy nominations.

The pair originally worked out of Albion, Michigan, and performed briefly under the name Trotter & Blount before adopting the War and Treaty moniker in 2015. Their animated live shows drew growing attention, leading to bookings on the folk-festival circuit and nationwide touring. Strong World Entertainment signed them in 2017 and issued the debut EP Down to the River that July; two months later Rolling Stone listed the duo among the twenty standout acts at AmericanaFest. They also spent part of the year writing and rehearsing in Nashville alongside a backing band.

While maintaining a heavy touring schedule, the War and Treaty prepared their first full-length project. They shared a bill with John Prine at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival in January 2018 and made their Bonnaroo debut the following June. Strong World released Healing Tide in August 2018, where it climbed into the Top 30 on both the Billboard Heatseekers and independent-albums charts. By that point admirers such as Emmylou Harris, Sam Bush, and Buddy Miller had already joined them on the record, with Miller serving as producer as well. For the follow-up the band worked at Nashville's Blackbird Studio, co-producing the sessions and inviting guests including Jason Isbell, Jerry Douglas, and Chris Eldridge. Hearts Town appeared in September 2020 through the War and Treaty Corporation in partnership with Rounder Records and Concord Music Group, again charting on the same Billboard lists. In April 2021 they joined Dierks Bentley onstage at the Academy of Country Music Awards for a cover of U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)," all while sustaining near-constant road work.

The duo joined Universal Music Group Nashville in mid-2022. That November 9 they performed at the Country Music Association Awards with Brothers Osborne and issued the EP Blank Page, produced by Dave Cobb. Lover's Game, containing four tracks from the EP, arrived in March 2023; also produced by Cobb, the ten-song collection explored themes of "love and the intention of love." By year's end the project had earned them Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best American Roots Song for "Blank Page."