The War and Treaty were featured on Saturday’s edition of NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Listen to the full the interview HERE. Of the husband and wife duo, Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount-Trotter, host Michel Martin declares, “If you are planning to see any live music this summer, we are told that our next guests are the ones to see.”
The interview comes in advance of the duo’s anticipated, full-length debut album, Healing Tide, which will be released August 10 on Strong World/Thirty Tigers and is now available for pre-order. In advance of the release, the album’s title track recently premiered, of which Rolling Stone praises, “…joyfully relentless…reminiscent of classic Ike and Tina Turner rock-infused soul.” Listen/share here. Additionally, the album trailer is now available to view/share here.
Healing Tide was produced by Buddy Miller (Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Wood Brothers) and was recorded at Miller’s home studio over five days in March 2018. It includes 11 songs written solely by Michael and features Tanya (vocals), Michael (vocals, piano, Wurlitzer, Rhodes) and Miller (guitars, banjo) as well as Brady Blade (drums), Adam Chaffins (bass), Jim Hoke (organ, saxophone, autoharp, harmonica), Russ Pahl (pedal steel, banjo), Sam Bush (fiddle), Bill Huber (trombone), Matt Slocum (cello) and special guest vocalist Emmylou Harris on “Here Is Where the Loving Is At.”
Of the mission behind the album, Michael comments, “I hope people see our hearts on this record…I want people to feel like we care. When you think about artists you don’t think about that, but that’s the way I want the world to feel about The War and Treaty.”
The duo will tour throughout 2018 in support of the album including festival stops at Newport Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Pickathon and AmericanaFest among many others. In addition to the festival performances, they will also join the Indigo Girls on a series of dates this summer. See below for complete details.
Michael and Tanya took distinctly different paths to becoming The War and Treaty. Michael is a wounded warrior who found his voice while serving in Iraq when he was pulled from the frontlines to write songs for the fallen. Tanya is a lifelong artist, drawn to singing’s power to take another’s pain away. The two met while performing at the same festival and became inseparable, going on to get married and create the musical collaboration that is The War and Treaty.
The release of Healing Tide follows a breakout year for the Albion, Michigan-based duo, whose debut EP, Down to the River, came out last July. The War and Treaty made headlines after a breakthrough performance at the 2017 Americana Music Festival & Conference, stepping up to fill an ill Buddy Miller’s spot. Rolling Stone highlighted the performance in their “AmericanaFest 2017: 20 Best Things We Saw,” praising, “Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount-Trotter nearly leveled the Cannery Ballroom…Mixing primitive blues, R&B and gospel-style shouting, War & Treaty’s songs…were tense and hypnotic, shrouded in darkness but punching their way to the light.” Additionally, Billboard featured the duo as one of “The 10 Bands You Need to Know About for This Year’s Festival Season” declaring, “two talents whose chemistry in the live setting is raw, joyous and spectacular. Both Trotter and Blount are propulsive singers, and their band seamlessly blends bluegrass, folk, gospel and soul.”
HEALING TIDE TRACKLIST:
- Love Like There’s No Tomorrow
- Healing Tide
- Are You Ready to Love Me?
- Hearts
- Jeep Cherokee Laredo
- One and the Same
- If It’s in Your Heart
- Here Is Where the Loving Is At (feat. Emmylou Harris)
- All I Wanna Do
- It’s Not Over Yet
- Little New Bern
THE WAR AND TREATY CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
June 24—Telluride, CO—Telluride Bluegrass Festival
July 5-8—Winnipeg, Canada—Winnipeg Folk Festival
July 9—Ocean City, NJ—Ocean City Pier*
July 10—Vienna, VA—Wolf Trap*
July 11—Charlottesville, VA—Sprint Pavilion*
July 13—Charlotte, NC—The Fillmore*
July 14—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium*
July 15—Mount Solon, VA—Red Wing Roots Music Festival
July 17—Augusta, GA—Miller Theater*
July 18—Durham, NC—DPAC*
July 19—Atlanta, GA—Chastain Park Amphitheatre*
July 26-27—Calgary, Canada—Calgary Folk Fest
July 29—Newport, RI—Newport Folk Festival
July 31—New York, NY—Rockwood Music Hall
August 3-5—Happy Valley, OR—Pickathon
August 9—Edmonton, Canada—Gallagher Park
August 11-12—Edmonton, Canada—Edmonton Folk Festival
August 17-19—Grand Prairie, Canada—Bear Creek Folk Festival
August 25-26—Fayetteville, AR—Fayetteville Roots Festival
September 7—Las Vegas, NV—Big Blues Bender
September 9—Chattanooga, TN—Moon River Music Festival
September 12-15—Nashville, TN—AmericanaFest
September 22—Bristol, TN—Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion
September 28—Dana Point, CA—Ohana Festival
February 10-17—Tampa, FL—Cayamo Cruise
*supporting Indigo Girls