The War and the Treaty Against Racist Experiences at the Austin Music Festival

The War and Treaty will perform on day three of CMA Fest 2024 on June 8, 2024 at the Chevy Riverfront Stage in Nashville.

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Although black artists have made great strides in the recent country music scene—Beyoncé and Shaboozey have had number one hits and artists like Brittney Spencer and Tanner Adell have broken through—racism still exists in the genre. For Americana country couple The War and Treaty, it was evident last week at the Coca-Cola Sips & Sounds Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

Before their performance, Michael Trotter Jr. The Hollywood Reporter“There was a cotton plant in her dressing room.” “And we all know what that means. We all know what that means to people who look like us in this country.”

“I’ve felt anger. I’ve felt disrespect. I’ve felt sadness. Sadness not just because of what this plant represents to people who look like me, but sadness for myself because I’m a son of this country. I served this country honorably in the 16th Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division of the United States Army. I’m wounded for that service. I’m very open about my wounds and scars and I felt betrayed,” he explains. “That’s not fair. That’s something that white artists don’t have to worry about at all. … It just comes through the guts of this genre. So I feel like it’s not enough for us to talk about it, we have to demand that we talk about it.”

The Grammy-nominated duo then performed on the main stage, with Trotter Jr. explaining: “When I demanded that we leave the festival quickly and get out of there, Tanya and I were in our hotel room trying to talk to our 12-year-old son Legend, and he finally approached us. He said this was not the time to be silent about it. He was very upset and understood exactly what that meant. He is homeschooled and knows what that means. But he doesn’t know what it means because Ty and I sat down and drilled it into him.”

The War and Treaty released their major label debut, Game for loversreceived critical acclaim last year, making history at the 2023 CMA and ACM Awards by becoming the first Black artists to be nominated for Duo of the Year at both shows. And they launched their first all-genre top 15 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Hey Driver,” their collaboration with streaming giant Zach Bryan.

This year they were nominated for two Grammys, including Best New Artist, performed in the In Memoriam segment at the Emmy Awards and will open for the Rolling Stones at SoFi Stadium on July 10 and 13.

Tanya Trotter says her experience in Austin “hit you hard when you’re the granddaughter of a sharecropper.”

“My grandfather bought the plantation in New Bern, North Carolina, where he grew cotton. My family still lives there. When you look at these things, you think, ‘Wow, even though my grandfather bought the plantation, there’s still a lot of suffering behind people who didn’t have a chance to turn it into economic development for their families.’ I didn’t want to sit there and educate because it’s not my job to educate anyone about what cotton is and what it stands for in this country. That just shouldn’t be happening. It’s not just about racism, it’s broader now. It’s a safety issue now because we need to feel safe coming to these festivals,” she says.

She continues, “When we infiltrate and take in blacks, Asians, Hispanics, you have to look at it as a safety issue, like they did when they integrated the school in Arkansas. They had the police there. It has to be safe for people to come to get an education, to be entertained, whatever the case may be. So that’s the position I take as we move into this genre and the spaces expand not just for us but for everyone. For anyone with melanin in their skin, you have to create a safe environment.”

A representative of the Sips & Sounds Music Festival did not immediately respond to The Hollywood ReporterPlease leave a comment.

“My skin color is red, white and blue – the flag. I’m an American soldier. That’s what this country asked for when it called me to serve, so I feel betrayed,” says Trotter Jr. “Yes, it’s a safety issue, but it’s more than that. It’s a human issue. It’s about humanity, and I was put in a position where I felt like I had to protect my wife, my son, my daughter and my band members at all costs, which would have meant going into war mode in my own country.”