Pat Benatar famously sang “Love Is a Battlefield,” and that may have influenced the unique name of The War and Treaty, an equally distinctive country-infused duo comprised of the husband and wife Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter.
The critically acclaimed couple — who will bring their explosive music to Davenport’s Raccoon Motel Saturday night — recently explained the origin of their band name:
“And we wanted to have something just that meant something. And I was like, you know what? We have to have the word ‘war’ in it. Because we literally were massive fans of the Civil Wars,” Michael Trotter told the website antimusic.com. “So that’s how we did that. And we were arguing about it and Tanya said, “you know what, Michael, this is not the war because I’m a war vet. And she’s like, this is not the war and we need to come to some sort of treaty.”
“And I was always the peaceful one, of course,” Tanya said. Michael added: “I think you just found the name. She’s like, ‘what?’ I was like, ‘The War and Treaty,’ the natural tug and pull of life. I feel that that’s what it is. And she agreed. And then boom, we settled it.”
The pair’s website describes themselves as a “powerhouse vocal duo, internationally renowned and long appreciated for live shows built on revival-like intensity, The War And Treaty now reach the next creative level.”
Their new, first major-label release — “Lover’s Game” — finds a trailblazing act exploring their own maturing relationship. “Revealing and bold, it offers unique perspective on shifting cultural tides, and the impact of a global pandemic,” the duo’s bio says. “Taken as a whole, it’s the beginning of a new campaign to expand their borders and win the hearts and minds of country music.”
“I think when people hear this album, they are going to feel the conviction of our voices and lyrical content behind these songs,” Michael explained on their site. “For me that’s what matters most.”
Founded in Michigan in 2014, the musical act’s hints of that truth have always been present.
Wielding a sound which cuts through the whole of Southern music tradition – from blues, soul and R&B, to gospel, country, folk and rock – the duo has dominated stages across the globe, headlining their own shows and opening for a diverse group of living legends: Al Green, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, John Legend, Lauren Daigle, and Van Morrison among them.
Earning respect, they’ve gone on to appear as top-flight collaborators, and they’ve also been recognized by the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry and the Americana Music Association (who named The War And Treaty its 2022 Duo/Group of the Year).
A review of “Lover’s Game” and interview April 4, 2023 (from Miami’s WLRN) said: “With industrious producer Dave Cobb, the two work up naturalistic, slow-burning, piano-driven arrangements of several of their originals, songs that spill over with devotion or need or take on the relational labor of giving comfort instead of slipping into cruel indifference. The Trotters sing them with a grown-up sense of pacing and phrasing, lingering here and there on meaning that’s hard to express.”
Grammy-winning producer
Over 10 tracks produced by multi-Grammy award-winner Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell), Michael and Tanya dig deep into the lessons their love has laid bare, especially as COVID-19 turned life upside down. More than 100 songs were written during that turbulent time, as both members searched for meaning, wisdom and joy – and although much of what they sought was found, it did not come easy, the bio says.
Tracks like “Blank Page” use a rootsy R&B sway to tribute the kind of love that gives weary hearts a second wind. “Up Yonder” bounds with folky freedom in the promise of eternal companionship. And the spirit-lifting “Angel” soars on wings of gratitude (plus a sweeping steel guitar).
But meanwhile, “Have You a Heart” aches for real partnership, and “Ain’t No Harmin’ Me” roams the darkest corners of an ugly world – its fire-and-brimstone harmony used to ward off demons all around.
“I had a lot to say,” Michael explains. “It all started for me with the death of John Prine [in April 2020] – and it didn’t stop after that. You can believe whatever it is you believe, but for me, my source is God, and this was the first time in my life I’ve ever questioned him or her. I wrote maybe 30 songs standing outside our bedroom door when Tanya had COVID-19, just really confused and hoping that this wasn’t it for her. My comfort was songwriting.”
“When you look at a married couple like Michael and I, people see the happiness and they see us on stage. They see the love,” Tanya adds. “But they don’t understand that we’re just like any other couple. We have our ups and downs.”
Spurred on by the anxiety of a pandemic, a surging career and all the couple stood to lose after years of hard work, their story plays out amid a transcendent sonic landscape, with both members crediting Cobb for their most elemental, stripped-down album to date. It places The War And Treaty in a new, perhaps-broader context – yet loses none of their lionhearted sonic bravery in the process, the bio says.
“Everything Dave touches is just a beautiful representation of what music should be,” Michael exclaims, citing the rootsy immediacy of Cobb’s in-the-moment recording style. “But I’ve never done music to be accepted. I’ve done music because it’s a part of who I am – a part of my DNA. Still, I think when you come from an authentic place … then people can look and say, ‘that’s country music’.”
A review of a July 2021 concert at Wolf Trap in Virginia said the couple “has a Motown spirit, a country soul, and a classic rock ‘n’ roll heart. On July 29, their performance was full of high energy and infectious joy.”
Two Q-C gigs
The War and Treaty perform at The Raccoon Motel, 315 E. 2nd St., Davenport, on 8 p.m. Saturday, April 15. Tickets are $26, available HERE. If you can’t hear them then, the Trotters will be back on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Vibrant Arena at The MARK in Moline, opening for Chris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show.
Tickets for that concert are $59.75 to $139.75, available HERE.
