In 2018, husband-and-wife duo Tanya and Michael Trotter Jr. released their debut album, Healing Tide, under the name The War and Treaty. Seamlessly blending blues, gospel, soul, bluegrass, country, the pair became the first Black duo to score a CMA nomination for Duo of the Year in 2023. Just getting started, The War and Treaty’s fourth studio album, Plus One, drops Friday (Feb. 14.) Michael Trotter has already promised the new record will transport listeners to “a different kind of church.” Ahead of the album’s Valentine’s Day release, the GRAMMY nominees opened up about the secret to their success.
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The War and Treaty “Open up the Doors to Our Lives” With New Album
Michael Trotter Jr. had eyes for his wife long before they became The War and Treaty. “I saw her on the big screen back in the ’90s (in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit) and I was like, ‘That is my wife right there,’” the “Five More Minutes” singer told People in November 2022.
Well, he wasn’t wrong. Officially meeting in 2010, the couple married soon after. While their chemistry is palpable in songs like “That’s How Love Is Made,” Tanya Trotter tells Holler that Plus One was born from the less shiny moments of marriage.
“Nine times out of ten, if we’re writing, I’m cleaning up. I’m doing something busy, and Michael is playing the song,” she said. “He’s like, ‘Listen to this,’ and ‘What do you think?’ and I’m interjecting.”
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It’s Not All Roses—And That’s The Point
Plus One sees The War and Treaty opening “the doors to our lives and really [letting] people in for the purpose of saying, ‘See, you’re not alone. You’re not by yourself,’” Michael told Holler.
Tanya added, “You can’t eat steak every day. Everything can’t always be lovey-dovey. There are days when love is just sitting on the couch or love is you talking or love is you just around each other.”
She continued, “I think that it does take on different forms all the time, and it’s always changing. The goal is to make sure you’re growing together and not growing apart.”
Featured image by Rob Latour/Shutterstock
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