War and Treaty Find Cotton Plant in Music Festival Lodge

Weston Rich for Summerfest

While Black artists have made strides in the country scene in recent years (Beyoncé and Shaboozey have released No. 1 hits, and artists like Brittney Spencer and Tanner Adell have made breakthroughs), racism still exists in the genre. For husband-and-wife country-Americana duo The War and Treaty, it happened last week at the Coca-Cola Sips & Sounds Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

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

“I felt anger, disrespect, sadness. Not just because of what this plant represents to people who look like me, but also to myself, because I am a son of this country. I served this country honorably in the 16th Infantry of the United States Army, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. I am injured for that service. I talk a lot about my injuries and my scars, and I felt betrayed,” he explains. “It’s not fair. It’s something that white artists don’t have to worry about at all. (…) It just happens in the guts of this genre. So I think it’s not enough that we talk about it, we have to demand that we talk about it.”

The Grammy-nominated duo continued to perform on the main stage, but Trotter explains, “When I demanded that we quickly leave this festival and get out of here, Tanya and I had a moment in our hotel room where we wanted to address our son, Legend, who is 12, and he ended up addressing us. He said this is not the time to be quiet about this. He was very upset, and he understood exactly what that meant. He’s homeschooled, and he knows what that means, but he doesn’t know what it means because Ty and I sat down and pounded on his head.”

The War and Treaty released their first album on a major label, Game of loverswho received critical acclaim last year, and made history at the 2023 CMA and ACM Awards, becoming the first Black artists to be nominated for Duo of the Year at both ceremonies. And they released their first Top 15 hit on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 with “Hey Driver,” their collaboration with streaming giant Zach Bryan.

This year, they earned two Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist; performed (alongside Charlie Puth) during the In Memoriam segment at the Primetime Emmy Awards; and will open for the Rolling Stones at SoFi Stadium on July 10 and 13.

Tanya Trotter says their experience in Austin “is tough when you’re the granddaughter of a sharecropper.”

“My grandfather bought the plantation where he picked cotton in New Bern, North Carolina. My family still lives there. So when you see these things, you look at them and you’re like, ‘Wow, even though my grandfather bought the plantation, there’s still a lot of pain for people who didn’t have the opportunity to turn it into economic development for their families.’ I didn’t want to sit there and do any outreach because it’s not my job to educate anyone about what cotton is and what it represents in this country. It just shouldn’t be happening. It’s bigger than racism now. It’s a safety issue now because we need to feel safe coming to these festivals,” she said.

She continued: “If we’re going to infiltrate and have black people, Asian people, Hispanic people, then it has to be seen as a safety issue, the same way they did when they integrated the school in Arkansas. They had the police there. It’s important for people to come in safely to be educated, 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. Everybody with melanin in their skin needs to have a safe environment.”

A representative for the Sips & Sounds music festival did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Hollywood Reporterrequest for comment.

“My skin color is red, white and blue, like the flag. I’m an American soldier. That’s what this country asked me to do when they asked me to serve, so I feel betrayed,” Michael said. “Yes, it’s a security issue, but it’s more than that. It’s a human issue. It’s humanity, and I was put in a situation where I felt like I had to protect my wife, my son, my daughter and my group members at all costs, which meant I would have to go into war mode in my own country.”

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.