Joseph Hudak
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The War and Treaty perform at the 2026 BET Awards. “You go where people want you to be,” says the duo’s Tanya Trotter. Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images The War and Treaty have been multiple nominees at country music’s two big industry awards, the CMAs and the ACMs. But according to the duo’s Michael Trotter, he and his wife and musical partner Tanya Totter have sometimes been told their music doesn’t “sound country enough,” only to watch in amazement when Morgan Wallen’s country-pop is lauded on the country charts.
“When you say things like we don’t ‘sound country enough’ and then Morgan becomes Number One and his art is, in my opinion, not country enough…,” Michael says. “Hmmm, this is a very interesting thing that’s happening here.”
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That feeling of being not enough for the genre they love has led the War and Treaty to make some changes in their career. Their latest album, last month’s The Story of Michael and Tanya, was released on a new label, they’ve formed their own management company, and they’re targeting spaces where they feel welcome.
“You go where people want you to be, you take what you can get from that space, and you bring it back home to the root,” Tanya says. “Americana is roots music. So, everything starts from the roots. … Just do you and create a system that works for you.”
