In the current age of social media, it has become de rigueur for actors and musicians to post video and photos of themselves awaiting news of potential award nominations, typically from the comfort of their own home. Should their hopes come to fruition, jumping for joy typically takes place.
When the War and Treaty received word of their two Grammy award nominations— Best New Artist and Best American Roots Song for “Blank Page”—they were sitting in what might be considered the most unglamorous place possible: an airport.
“We were so stunned,” says Michael Trotter Jr., who along with his wife, Tanya Trotter (nee Blount), comprise the duo, which originally formed in D.C. “We were actually sitting there eating and my cell phone just started binging like, ‘bing bing, bing, bing.’ I didn’t know what was going on. And I looked down and I just saw ‘Congratulations on your Grammy nomination,’ and I immediately started crying. Tanya was like, ‘Oh my God, who died?’ I was like ‘No, baby, no one died.’”
Then came hugs, tears, high-fives, and calls to as many people as they could before they had to catch their next flight. (Yes, their reaction to learning of their Grammy nominations on Nov. 10 was captured on video and can be viewed on their Instagram page.) Ten years since they formed, the pair were, at long last, seemingly getting their due.
Those curious about how this duo a decade into their careers under might be considered a “new artist” should be aware of the Recording Academy’s rule for the category that states: “Eligible artists must have achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and impacted the musical landscape during the year’s eligibility period.” Breakthrough doesn’t even begin to describe how colossal 2023 was for the War and Treaty.
After the release of their critically acclaimed album Lover’s Game, their career quickly reached new plateaus. With performances including NBC’s Christmas at Graceland special, singing the National Anthem on Thanksgiving before a Detroit Lions game (a note to whoever wrote their intro: The duo are not from Michigan; they lived there for a few years and currently live outside Nashville, but their roots are in the DMV), or dueting a tribute to Miss Patti LaBelle for CMT’s Smashing Glass, the War and Treaty have arrived.
For Tanya, who had early success appearing in the 1993 comedy Sister Act 2 and as a solo artist (she was nominated for Soul Train Awards’ Best New Artist in 1995), getting recognition on the Grammys’ level, after all these years, is beyond gratifying.
“50 is the new 30,” Tanya says with a hearty laugh (proving that she who laughs last does indeed laugh loudest). “Best new artist at 50? Come on now! It’s just amazing to see what life has planned for you while you’re trying to plan your life. I couldn’t have dreamed of where we are, where I am in my life, doing this with the love of my life and being nominated for two Grammys.”
In December, the pair were able to return to D.C. to visit family and also act as Santa and Mrs. Claus at the House of Ruth. The local shelter holds a special place in the Trotter Jr.’s heart. As a teen, he and his mother lived at House of Ruth when they first arrived in D.C.
“The event was amazing,” says Trotter Jr. “We were able to get toys to all of the children and still have some left over. It was just outstanding and it felt so good to return back to the House of Ruth and to be able to give back in that way, with Tanya.”
And the new year has already started on a high note (pardon the musical pun). The duo performed with Charlie Puth during the 75th Emmy Awards on Jan. 15. With their star on the rise, a new album on the way, a biopic in the works, and a pair of Grammys to win this Sunday, Feb. 4, it’s heartening that the couple, who met in the middle of a Maryland music festival in 2010, are finally getting the recognition they deserve. (We predict the War and Treaty will earn an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song within the next five years: You heard it here first.)
Tanya’s family—who have kept every article that mentioned her name and knows all the peaks and valleys the pair have traveled—is stunned at all the recent recognition.
“People remember the past and they remember the path,” says Tanya. “My family, they are in complete shock. Everybody’s just like, ‘We knew you had it in you but oh my God!’ I mean, it just keeps going up and up and up.”
The 2024 Grammys air live on Sunday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. on CBS and Paramount+.