For listeners who might only know The War and Treaty from the song “Hey Driver,” the husband-and-wife duo’s hit collab with roots-country star Zach Bryan, Michael and Tanya Trotter are extending an invitation.
“We’re asking our entire audience, whoever’s listening, to come join us and be our plus-ones,” Michael tells G&G. “Because we’re one already, me and Tanya—one mind, one body, one soul. We’re connected all the way through, and now it’s time for this entity to start opening up its doors.”
On Plus One, their new album out this Valentine’s Day, the pair roll out the red carpet for music fans with an eighteen-song collection that imbues their country-soul sound with elements of bluegrass, gospel, and other touches from their vast musical worldview. For their follow-up to Lover’s Game, the 2023 album that featured the Grammy-nominated “Blank Page” (and triggered the duo’s nomination for Best New Artist), the Trotters also welcomed some famous friends into the fold. Bluegrass star Billy Strings works his fleet-fingered guitar fretwork around the Trotters’ vocal harmonies on “Drink from Me,” while Miranda Lambert co-wrote the album’s opening tune, “Love Like Whiskey.”
G&G caught up with The War and Treaty to talk about their reception in Nashville and how Plus One solidifies their spot in country music’s new guard.
You’ve always been stylistic omnivores, pulling from gospel and R&B and country. How has that gelled with Nashville?
Tanya: When we came here, we didn’t know anything about Americana, the genre. We just knew about music. And so we didn’t realize that it would be accepted and be heard by those in country music, who would eventually embrace us and love the music. We just did what we normally do, and it happened organically. We’ve always loved country music, and our lifestyles and our culture are very in line with the values of what country music has always been—family, fun, faith. We bring who we are into country music.
Michael: I would say Nashville grew with us. Our experiences have shaped who we are here. We didn’t do anything alone, hence why the album’s named Plus One. We’ve just found a way to include our supporters, to include the people in the business who want to hear from us. Our sound in Nashville is not so much the sound of Nashville, but really the sound that Michael and Tanya are making in Nashville.
You blend your influences all over Plus One, putting instruments in unexpected places, like the banjo on “Can I Get an Amen.” But it works.
Tanya: It’s really just everything that we love about music, and I think it is intentional because it’s in us. The beautiful thing about music is that it’s inspirational, experimental, spiritual. It’s all these things that can come out of you, and then it’s up to you and your artistry. We just put our soulful voices over top of it.
You recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, where Aretha Franklin and so many others have made records. What drew you there?
Michael: Just the history, being in the presence of the spirit of that room. You mentioned Aretha. We could talk about Wilson Pickett. We could talk about the Allman Brothers. We could talk about even Jason Isbell. There’s so many that have graced that building to make it what it is. Tanya and I wanted to add our names to that list, and we want our band to add their names to that list, as well.
Miranda Lambert is one of your plus-ones on the album. How did that collaboration come about?
Tanya: Miranda wrote me a letter and sent me a pair of boots—that was the introduction to Miranda Lambert, the warmness of who she is. We kind of flirted around every time we saw each other that we should all work together and write a song, and it was her idea to come to the studio and write. So we went and we listened to a lot of different songs. We drank, we drank, we drank, in Miranda style, and the genius of Miranda Lambert came out. She’s an incredible vocal arranger. She knows exactly how to craft a song and when you should give energy here or what lines work, and we just appreciate her friendship and her extending her hand to us.
Some artists are doing shorter records in the streaming age, but this is a generous helping of The War and Treaty.
Michael: We just didn’t stop singing and didn’t stop recording. But when you look at the length of albums, look at Zach Bryan’s or Noah Kahan’s latest releases [The Great American Bar Scene and Stick Season]. Or our buddy Post [Malone], he released a pretty lengthy album [F-1 Trillion]. My saying is this: If you got the chops, then let it rip.
