There’s a moment that happens during The War and Treaty‘s live show, usually several times, that’s unique to this duo.
At the emotional high point of a song, or when their vocal harmonies are particularly dialed into lock step with each other, the husband-and-wife team will move towards each other, inching in until their faces are almost touching as they sing. It’s an intimate moment — so intimate that audience members could be forgiven for feeling briefly like they’re intruding on something special, emotional and private.
The War and Treaty’s love for each other is the backbone of their music. They’re known for their emotional lyrics, many of which are inspired by Michael and Tanya Trotter’s real-life marriage.
They’ve spoken publicly about several aspects of their love story, too: How they supported each other through personal and career struggles, such as Michael’s battle with post-traumatic stress disorder after his military service in Iraq.
Fans know them for their love story, and for the triumph of their perseverance as a married couple and musical duo. But with their new Plus One album, the War and Treaty are focused on peeling back the layers.
Read More: Country Radio is Ready for The War and Treaty, But Is It Ready For Them?
The word for this project that Tanya Trotter uses when speaking about shedding light on their story is “cinematic.”
“I think people know our story, but they don’t know our story,” she reflects to Taste of Country. “People know us, but they don’t know us. And it’s something that we have found out as we’re taking this journey with this particular record and getting more connected with the fans, just really trying to listen to what people are saying. And what they’re not saying.”
She points to the album-opening “Love Like Whiskey,” a song that opens with the line, “I’ve been sleeping on the couch all week / You ain’t even talkin’ to me.”
It’s hard to imagine this couple — the couple who sing to each other onstage like no one else is in the concert venue — having such a bad fight.
But they do. Every couple does. And with an extra dose of grit and relatability from co-writer Miranda Lambert, plus production from Jesse Frasure, The War and Treaty compellingly convey the lows that make their relationship’s highs so celebratory and hard-won.
“You have a song where two people are like …’We’re gonna stay in the trenches and make this work,'” Tanya elaborates. “And I think that’s a testament to who we are as people and as artists. We’re resilient. We’ve been resilient with our marriage as well as our music careers.”
Another track, “Leads Me Home,” might catch fans’ ears at first because it’s more traditionally country than they’d expect from this genre-dynamic duo. Michael says that it’s his homage to John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” But he doesn’t just mean stylistically. “Leads Me Home” is the duo’s own take on all life’s fateful, winding, home-bound roads.
“There are highs and lows. Sometimes there is water to drink, and [sometimes] there is water to shed, through tears,” Michael reflects. “But I believe we all got this one love spot that can always lead us to the safe spot called home.”
It’s no surprise that for these two, the “love spot” that leaves them home is each other. Anyone who’s seen the intensity with which they sing to each other onstage knows just how important Michael is to Tanya, and Tanya is to Michael.
But they might not understand exactly where that intensity comes from. Sure, they’re swept up in the moment, and in their love for each other. It’s the hardest times and the darkest hours of their life together, though, that have taught them just how important it is share that love with each other and with the world.
“We don’t know when this could end,” Michael says, referencing Plus One’s final track, “The Glorious Ones”: “I don’t know the day or hour / When this old body will lose power.”
“Tomorrow ain’t promised to nobody,” he continues. “So I’m gonna make sure that I spend every second of my day showing my wife how appreciative I am to have her in my life.
Plus One arrives on Friday (Feb. 14).
Country Artists Reveal The Best Concert They’ve Ever Been To
Our favorite country artists know how to put on a good show, but have you ever wondered which artists have blown them away? As musicians, artists are naturally inspired by other artists and just fans of music in general — no matter the genre.
So which concerts have knocked the socks off your favorite artists? Keep scrolling to find out.
Gallery Credit: Jess