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Artist Presale: 6/24 at 10am- 6/25 at 10pm
Public on Sale: 6:26 at 10am

The War And Treaty

For the past decade, soulful duo The War And Treaty—the husband-and-wife team of Michael and Tanya Trotter—have released music that continues to elevate them beyond beloved industry favorites, as well as award-season and touring staples, capable of performing on stages worldwide with widespread acclaim and standing ovations.

Every aspect of their new project exemplifies the pinnacle of the group’s ever-creative growth within these mentioned ideas.

Twelve years after their founding, The War And Treaty have redefined themselves beyond Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association, and GRAMMY nominations. Moreover, being lauded by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Americana Music Association, which named them Duo/Group of the Year for two consecutive years, cannot contain them as a group greater than the sum of their most successful parts.

Immediately upon listening to their latest album, it’s clear that a more vibrant energy now guides a duo confidently shaping their own destiny.

Album collaborators include titans of the arts who are as much friends, mentors, and trusted confidants as they are legends across multiple industries: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award winner Whoopi Goldberg (who provides the spoken word intro for “Litty”), Songwriters Hall of Famer Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds (writer of “You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore”), Country Music Hall of Famer Wynonna Judd, and Grammy-nominated performer Valerie June (both on “Reclaim All Of Your Time”) all contribute as guest artists.

Hall of Fame-caliber mentors and influential friends, now serving as relaxed collaborators, shape how powerhouse country-soul vocalists like Valerie June and Wynonna Judd influence The War And Treaty’s latest sound.

The duo’s pairing is less unlikely than it appears at first glance: both grew up listening to classic country and Memphis soul records, among many other genres. As a result, on the song “Reclaim All of Your Time,” their styles blend seamlessly with Tanya Trotter’s veteran gospel-soul stylings.

For nearly five years after writing the folksy, female-empowerment ballad, Michael Trotter, its creator, believed it should be presented as a conversational piece with layered harmonies.

He was right. The song, both in its composition and vocal delivery, combines warmth and strength to forge a rare genre bridge.

Beyond collaborations, The War And Treaty’s latest work also thoughtfully seeks to expand Ray Charles’ 50-year-old idea that the best music exists in the tension between sacred sounds and secular desires. Given that Michael and Tanya Trotter are a married couple, their ability to explore that space is obvious. Yet, their decade-long efforts to meet industry expectations in folk, Americana, and country music left significant raw and romantic potential in their sound untapped.

“We’re finally performing material that shows people how, beyond being mature and intentional, how sanctified and sexual we can be,” says Tanya Trotter. “For Michael and me, it’s important to show the combination of rawness and sweetness that underlies our soulful sound.” “It’s a privilege to be Tanya’s husband,” Michael Trotter says with a sly twinkle in his eye. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to witness every aspect of her life. It lets me see her power in humanity and spirit in ways most people never will.”

In a way similar to the 2025 “Plus One” album track “Mr. Fun,” the duo revisits direct, earnest, sexy, and, yes, intense honky-tonk-meets-juke-joint-style storytelling in “Darlene and Gene.” It’s a dusty soul song reminiscent of blues records, whether from Chicago, Illinois, or Clarksdale, Mississippi.

“Holy Ghost Fire” elevates whatever themes previous efforts like “Mr. Fun” and “Darlene and Gene” established for the duo by timelessly connecting multiple generations of soul music to humanity, a value beyond measure.

A love and heartbreak song that Michael Trotter has waited his whole life to sing is starkly wrapped in a domestic violence-survival anthem that Tanya Trotter has endured to vocalize. That inherent tension is reflected in the song’s tone and tenor. It ignites like a torch rather than a stick, sparking a five-alarm blaze rather than a small fire.

Through the song, both parts of The War And Treaty finally confront their core truths at the height of their artistic power.

Embracing their creative calling, rather than just skimming the surface, is the victory not only of what the explosive “Holy Ghost Fire” represents but of the entire album.

“For The War And Treaty, feeling every aspect of what we’re writing and singing has grown from representing routine emotions to now demanding that people connect with our spirit,” says Michael Trotter.

“Evoking hard, honest emotions first required me to find those parts in myself,” Tanya Trotter adds. “Once you find them, there’s a strength to the urgency that feels like you’ll be at your wits’ end if you don’t express that emotion.” As for what the record offers next, the inclusion of superstar songwriter Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds as a contributor for “You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore” was a conscious choice, aligning the duo with an empathetic lineage that starts with Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, and Donny Hathaway.

Michael and Tanya Trotter’s combined musical and emotional intelligence allows their new songs to gently but firmly address the world’s complexities.

“The power of language is that it can peacefully balance emotions,” says Tanya Trotter.

“However, for many generations, even when the conversations don’t use words, it’s always been important (first and foremost), not to question where an emotion is coming from, but instead understand the context (that created them),” adds Michael Trotter.

“Sometimes, when I was a child, my mother would be crying while she was washing dishes, and I would watch my grandmother come over and put a hand on her shoulder — no words, just love.”

“In any context, embracing sharing the beauty of completing conversations with each other, with humility and love, is needed in our world now, more than ever. Because we’re born into this world drenched in love, we all have enough of it to share.”

Artist Presale: 3/5 @ 10am – 3/6 @ 10pm
Public on Sale: 3/7 @ 10am

The War And Treaty

Since first lighting up the world with their glorious fusion of country and soul, The War And Treaty have steadily built a legacy as one of the most iconic husband-and-wife duos in music history. In the last few years alone, Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter’s phenomenal talent and daring originality have led to major milestones like earning two Grammy nominations, taking home the Duo/Group of the Year prize at the Americana Music Honors & Awards two years in a row, and performing at stadiums as support for superstars like the Rolling Stones and Zach Bryan—a triumph that’s won them a whole new legion of fans thanks to the electrifying impact of their revelatory live show. On their new album Plus One, The War And Treaty double down on the powerful sense of togetherness that’s always fueled their music, offering up 18 life-affirming songs aimed at providing a shared experience of hope and healing and much-needed joy.

“We see this record as an open invitation to be a part of what we’re doing—it came from wanting to be the hope we believe people need right now, as well as the hope that we need for ourselves,” says Tanya. “Too often we feel all alone in this world, and when we feel alone it can be easy to succumb to despair,” Michael adds. “One of our main intentions with this album is to inspire people to share themselves with others, and open themselves up to the possibility of being loved.”

Mainly produced by Michael and recorded at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Plus One marks their fourth full-length and follow-up to Lover’s Game—a 2023 LP whose standout track “Blank Page” nabbed a Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Song, with The War And Treaty nominated for Best New Artist. To create their most extravagant body of work to date, the duo enlisted their longtime live band and dreamed up a singular sound touched with elements of gospel, bluegrass, contemporary country, classic soul, symphonic pop, folk-rock, and more. Partly made in collaboration with esteemed producers like Jonathan Singleton (Luke Combs, Chase Rice), John Shanks (Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow), and Jesse Frasure (Jelly Roll, Kelsea Ballerini), the result is a transcendent double album firmly rooted in their timeless musicality and forward-thinking vision. “There’s a spirit in the walls at FAME that I could hear speaking to us—I could feel Wilson Pickett and Percy Sledge and the Allman Brothers, all telling us to be honest and humble and take this moment very seriously,” says Michael. “The goal was to pull from the energy of the past and the present, and come up with something that becomes part of the future.”

In a potent introduction to the album’s sonic magnificence, Plus One opens on “Love Like Whiskey”: a soul-soothing portrait of a love strong enough to overcome any obstacle, co-written by the Trotters and country queen Miranda Lambert. “We’ve been friends with Miranda for a while, and we all got together and decided to write a song about how Michael and I work through those times when we’re not getting along,” Tanya explains. With its radiant guitar work, rousing horns, and beautifully lived-in storytelling, “Love Like Whiskey” finds The War And Treaty leaning further into their deep-seated love of country while boldly expanding the genre’s boundaries. “In the past we’ve been told our sound wasn’t radio-friendly, but over time we started getting attention from country radio,” says Michael. “We’ve been seeing a lot of new artists pushing the envelope as far as what country music can be, so we decided, ‘Why not join them, and push it our own way?’”

Both exquisitely gifted vocalists, Michael and Tanya trade off verses all throughout Plus One to share their distinct perspective on their one-of-a-kind love story—a dynamic put to dazzling use on songs like “Can I Get An Amen.” Over the course of the hard-hitting but exuberant track, the two present an up-close glimpse into their daily lives and the countless ways in which they lift each other up (from the opening lyrics, delivered by Michael: “Sunday morning, she’s a bona fide preacher/Laying hands all over me”). “When I sing that line, it’s a true statement about when I was going through the height of my PTSD and Tanya would massage me to calm me down,” says Michael, an Iraq War veteran and wounded warrior. “The whole song came from being thankful for the seven days a week I get to spend with Tanya, and all the good that can come when I really open up and let her in.”

One of the most thrilling moments on Plus One, “Carried Away” revels in the unending passion at the heart of their romance. “Sometimes we have to sit back and marvel at the fact that we’ve been together for 15 years,” says Tanya. “So many marriages crumble a few years in, but with us it just keeps getting better and better with time.” In a particularly brilliant move, “Carried Away” takes the shape of a pedal-steel-laced honky-tonk ballad during the verses, then slips into a groove-heavy R&B slow-burner at the chorus. “The most important part about nailing that song was making sure that Tanya and I were in the same room, vibing off each other,” Michael recalls. “We put our foreheads together and left that space between our lips, and then just moved together like the ocean.”

Endlessly revealing the incredible depth of their musicianship, Plus One encompasses everything from the moody bluegrass romp of “Drink From Me” (featuring virtuoso guitarist Billy Strings) to the wildly ecstatic “Called You By Your Name” (a breakneck-paced rallying cry influenced by the Black gospel tradition of shout music). On “Skyscraper,” the duo serve up a stomp-and-clap anthem graced with guest vocals from their daughter (Courtney Trotter) and Michael’s mother (Deborah Trotter), transforming the track into a triumphant family affair. “When you look up at all those skyscrapers in New York City, you don’t usually think about what it took to build them,” says Michael. “We know that sometimes it takes a lot of pain and struggle and loneliness to get to where you’re meant to be, so we wrote that song to remind everyone that we’re all beautiful skyscrapers with a story to tell.” And on “Tunnel Vision,” The War And Treaty lay down a fiery country-rock banger declaring their determination to fully live their truth. “I started writing that song during the pandemic, which reminded us how we need to stay focused on doing what brings us joy,” says Michael. “It’s about coming out of that experience with a victorious mindset and telling the world, ‘We’ve got a goal in mind, and we’re not going to let anyone or anything get in our way.’”

In selecting a title for their latest album, The War And Treaty chose to honor the once-in-a-lifetime connection evident in everything they create. Now based in Nashville, the two first met at a Maryland music festival in 2010 and instantly discovered an undeniable chemistry despite their disparate backgrounds. To that end, Tanya grew up near Washington, D.C., and found success as a singer and actress as a teenager, while Michael taught himself to play piano while encamped in one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces during his time in the military. Within several years of crossing paths, the duo co-founded The War And Treaty and set off on an unstoppable rise that’s now included sharing stages with such eclectic artists as Chris Stapleton and Al Green, performing twice at the White House, joining forces with Zach Bryan on his platinum-certified smash “Hey Driver” (nominated for a People’s Choice Country Award), and amassing an ever-growing list of accolades and award nominations. But for Michael and Tanya, the duo’s greatest achievement lies in the constant growth of their adoring and deeply engaged fanbase. “We hear a lot from veterans who tell us our music inspires them to keep holding on, and from young girls who look up to Tanya and show us the pictures they’ve drawn of her,” he notes. “We’ve also seen people fall in love at our shows, and then get in touch later to let us know that one of our songs was the first dance at their wedding. It’s becoming a whole culture cultivated in love.”

As they get set to tour in support of Plus One, The War And Treaty look forward to joining their fans in rejoicing in the album’s mood of unbridled gratitude and full-hearted celebration. “At a time when human connection is being threatened by AI and all the division happening in our country, I think a lot of us are thirsting to really connect with others,” says Michael. “We want our live show to be a place where you can be around other likeminded people, where we can all get together and let the love wash over all the pain we’ve experienced. And if you can, we hope everyone will bring a plus one—someone who needs to hear what we’re saying, so that we can all grow together and extend that spirit of love as far as it can go.”

 

Madeline Edwards

Madeline Edwards is a genre-defying singer-songwriter whose music seamlessly blends country, jazz, soul, and rock influences into a sound that is uniquely her own. With a voice that carries both power and vulnerability, she has captivated audiences with her authenticity, storytelling, and rich, emotive delivery.

Born in California and raised in Houston, Texas, Edwards first gained widespread recognition with her breakout performances in 2021, leading to national television appearances, a debut album (Crashlanded), and critical acclaim for her ability to push genre boundaries while staying rooted in heartfelt, deeply personal songwriting. She has since shared the stage with some of music’s most iconic artists, performing alongside Alanis Morissette and joining Chris Stapleton on his All-American Road Show tour, further cementing her reputation as one of the most compelling new voices in modern music.

Now, after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus from releasing music, Edwards returns with her much-anticipated sophomore album—a record that comes from the depths of loss, resilience, and rediscovery. In that time, she endured the heartbreaking loss of her beloved brother, being dropped from a major label, and the long, arduous fight to reclaim her voice and artistry. Through it all, she emerged stronger, crafting a body of work that reflects not just her pain, but her triumph.

With a renewed spirit and an undeniable presence, Edwards is ready to step back into the spotlight—not just as an artist, but as a survivor, a storyteller, and a force to be reckoned with in modern music

 

Tickets on sale to the public Friday, June 23rd at 10am!

The War & Treaty

Founded in 2014 by the husband-and-wife duo Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, The War And Treaty have emerged as one of the most electrifying new acts in American music. With a lionhearted sonic blend – both roaring with passion and tender to the touch, they “are making soul moves that are captivating everyone who sees them,” (Hits Magazine). Covering a diverse range of music pallets with their “jaw-dropping harmonies” (American Songwriter), trailblazing husband-and-wife duo The War And Treaty expand on their sound that cuts through the whole of Southern music tradition with the release of their milestone album, LOVER’S GAME (Mercury Nashville). The 10-song collection produced by Dave Cobb proves why the “Nashville couple is as good as it gets” (Music Row) as they offer “stunning vocals and thought-provoking lyrics” (Nashville Lifestyles) that share a unique perspective on shifting cultural and musical tides while pulling back the layers of a maturing relationship. Earning respect, they’ve gone on to appear as top-flight collaborators, and have been recognized by the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry and the Americana Music Association as “2022 Duo/Group of the Year.” With more than 100 shows last year, the duo have dominated stages across the globe including North America, Europe, Italy, Australia, and Ireland, while headlining their own shows and opening for a diverse group of living legends; Al Green, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, John Legend, Lauren Daigle and Van Morrison among them. As they have created vastly diverse tour opportunities across multiple genres, The War And Treaty will join Chris Stapleton on the All American Road Show Tour this summer. For more information visit www.thewarandtreaty.com.

Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, 8/5 at 10am.

$1/ticket is being donated to The Community Foundation

The War And Treaty

The War And Treaty have amassed a following as eclectic as their sound itself with “voices that will stop you in your tracks” (Garden and Gun) and their bluesy but joyful fusion of Southern soul, gospel, Country, and rock-and-roll. The husband-and-wife team of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter “continue their commando, no-limits journey to the top of the music world” (Associated Press) following their latest widely acclaimed release, HEARTSTOWN.  Known for a live show nearly revival-like in its intensity, they “build up waves of emotion that crash into a cathartic release of a tour-de-force performance,” (Austin-American Statesman) as the versatile duo has opened for artists such as Al Green, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, John Legend and Lauren Daigle while their multifaceted collaborative efforts include Dierks Bentley, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Leslie Jordan, Mumford & Sons, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Sturgill Simpson. The 2021 International Folk Music Awards “Artist of the Year” an Americana Music Association’s 2019 “Emerging Artist of the Year” continue to reveal new headlining dates and will serve as direct support for Van Morrison (5/7-5/10) ahead of their overseas trek this summer to Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, United Kingdom and Scotland. For more information visit www.thewarandtreaty.com.

As The War and Treaty, Michael and Tanya Trotter serve up healing and pain robbing with freewheeling joy on their new full-length album, Healing Tide. Funky bass lines, keys, lap steel, acoustic strings, and stripped-down percussion create a swampy Southern soul bed for the couple’s transcendent vocals. A tour-de-force produced by Buddy Miller, the collection swaggers with confidence only gained by artists who are wholly, proudly, themselves.

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. “You have to have a deep place of love within yourself to be vulnerable,” Tanya says. “With The War and Treaty, we allow people to see two people that are not perfect. We get on stage. We sweat. We’re overweight. We yell. We get ugly, we scream! My hair comes loose. We’re vulnerable––naked––in front of people, and it’s a chain reaction. It allows them to be vulnerable, too.”

The War and Treaty’s music and stories bring tears and goosebumps, but ultimately, more is at work. “I want people to feel like we care,” Michael says. “When you think about artists, you don’t think about that.” He pauses and grins broadly. “But that’s the way I want the world to feel about The War and Treaty.”

To borrow a phrase from heaven’s new poet laureate, Leonard Cohen, Nicole Atkins was “born with the gift of a golden voice.” But somewhere along the way she misplaced it. Goodnight Rhonda Lee is the story of Nicole finding her voice, and how, in doing so, she went a little crazy.

 

Great Art is born of struggle and Nicole was struggling. The problem was that she felt nothing. Her fans responded to her performances with the same fervor they always had, but Nicole felt nothing. Her new husband loved her and doted on her, but she felt nothing. She traced it back to her drinking and decided to try to learn to live without booze. But that first day of sobriety brought with it an unexpected additional test — Nicole’s dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. This Jersey girl, whose big voice was tethered to a big heart, and whose reaction to the mundane setbacks of everyday life had always been equally overblown, suddenly faced a real problem. “It toughened me up,” she says.

 

And the songs started to come. Little bursts of therapeutic creativity. Thorny feelings transubstantiated into melodies. Beginning with “Listen Up,” a wake-up call to a lucky girl who hadn’t realized how lucky she’d been, Nicole started to find her redemption in these songs. They rang true in a way no songs ever had before. They came from a deep, vulnerable place. If Nicole had been living an unexamined life, she wasn’t anymore.

 

She needed her newfound toughness though, as in the midst of all this turmoil, she prepared to move from her native Asbury Park to Nashville. Having spent more than a decade as the de facto queen of Asbury, Nicole was finally leaving the warm, but often stifling confines of her hometown. During one of her final nights before the exodus, a song came to her in a dream. “I Love Living Here Even When I Don’t” summed up the complicated feelings she experienced as she said goodbye to the only real home she’d ever known.

 

In Nashville, Nicole’s once hectic life was very different. Left home alone as her tour manager husband plied his trade out on the road, Nicole found herself writing songs that examined “feelings of separation and being scared of new surroundings.” In particular, the songs “Sleepwalking” and “Darkness Falls” echo like ghosts through an empty house.

 

Unsurprisingly, her sobriety faltered. She drifted in and out of it. Nicole knew the wagon was good for her, but she had a hard time staying focused on what was good for her. As it went on however, the clarity of those sober days started to shine through. And she was able to string them together in longer stretches. For the first time, she was able to offer a shoulder for others to lean on, rather than always being the one in need of a shoulder. It helped that she had to be strong for herself in order to be strong for her dad. Much of what she was feeling was painful, but it beat the hell out of feeling nothing.

 

She reconnected with her old friend Chris Isaak who encouraged her, in the midst of all the soul-searching and soul-baring, to write songs that emphasized the one trait that most sets her apart from the mere mortals of the industry, telling her, “Atkins, you have a very special thing in your voice that a lot of people can’t or don’t do. You need to stop shying away from that thing and let people hear it.” To that end, the two of them collaborated on Goodnight Rhonda Lee’s standout track, the instant classic, “A Little Crazy.”

 

Great Art is a journey — and Nicole Atkins traveled quite a distance to bring us Goodnight Rhonda Lee. As Nicole explains it, “This record came to me at a time of deep transition. Some days were good, some not so good. What I did gain, though, from starting to make some changes and going inward, and putting it out on the table, was a joy in what I do again. Joy in the process and a newfound confidence that I don’t think I’ve ever had until now. The album title, Goodnight Rhonda Lee, also came from those feelings. Rhonda Lee was kind of my alias for bad behavior, and it was time to put that persona to bed.”

 

The direction in which these songs were headed was obvious. Nicole’s voice had always recalled a classic vinyl collection. She is the heir to the legacy of “Roy Orbison, Lee Hazelwood, Sinatra, Aretha, Carole King, Candi Staton.” She is untethered to decade or movement or the whim of the hipster elite.

 

In order to capture the timelessness she sought, Nicole enlisted a modern day Wrecking Crew: Niles City Sound in Fort Worth, TX, who had just risen to national acclaim as Leon Bridges’ secret weapon. “We spoke the same language. We wanted to make something classic, something that had an atmosphere and a mood of romance and triumph and strength and soul.” The album was recorded in five days, live to tape. The album that Nicole and the boys came up with in those five days, Goodnight Rhonda Lee, is nothing less than Great Art and a quantum leap forward for Nicole Atkins who, no matter how much she grows up, will always be a little crazy.