Although black artists have made significant strides in the recent country music scene — with Beyoncé and Shaboozey launching No. 1 hits and acts like Brittney Spencer and Tanner Adell breaking ground — racism in the genre still exists. Americana husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty came to last week's Coca-Cola Sips & Sounds Music festival in Austin, Texas.
Before their performance, says Michael Trotter Jr festival-dressing-room-1235938735/” target=”_blank”>The Hollywood Reporter, “There was a cotton plant” in their dressing room. “And we all know what that means. We all know what this represents in this country to people who look like us.”
“Anger is what I felt. Disrespect is what I felt. Sadness is what I felt. Grief not only for what this plant represents to people who look like me, but grief for myself because I am a son of this country. I served this country honorably in the United States Army's 16th Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. I am injured for this service. I talk a lot about my wounds and 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 to go through the guts of this genre. So, I feel like it's not enough to talk about it, we have to demand to talk about it.”
The Grammy-nominated duo went on to perform on the main stage, though Trotter explains: “When I asked to leave this festival quickly and get out of there, Tanya and I had a moment in our hotel room where we wanted to talk son, Legend, who is 12, and ended up addressing us. He said this is no time for silence. He was very upset and understood exactly what it meant. He's homeschooled and he knows what that means, and he doesn't know what it means because Ty and I have sat down and drilled it into his head.”
The War and Treaty released their major label debut, The lover's game, 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 shows. And they released their first Top 15 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 all-genre chart with “Hey Driver,” their collaboration with streaming juggernaut Zach Bryan.
This year, they earned two Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. They performed during the in memoriam segment at the Emmy Awards. and will open for the Rolling Stones at SoFi Stadium on July 10th and 13th.
Tanya Trotter says their Austin experience “hits hard when you're a shareholder's granddaughter.”
“My grandfather actually bought the cotton plantation in New Bern, North Carolina. My family actually still lives there. So when you see these things, you look at it and say, “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 in there and educate because it's not my place to educate anybody about what cotton is and what it stands for in this country. It just shouldn't happen. Beyond racism, it's broader now. Now it's about security because we need to feel safe coming to these festivals,” he says.
He continues, “If we're going to infiltrate and have blacks, Asians, Hispanics, then you have to look at it as a safety issue the same way they did when they integrated the school in Arkansas. They had the police there. It has to be safe for people to come to be educated, to be entertained, whatever the case may be. So that's the position I take as we move forward in this genre and the spaces expand not only for us but for everyone. Anyone who has melanin in their skin should be provided with an environment of safety.”
A representative for Sips & Sounds Music festival did not immediately respond The Hollywood Reporter”s request for comment.
“The color of my skin is red, white and blue — the flag. I am an American soldier. This is what this country called for when it asked me to serve, so I feel betrayed,” says Michael. “Yes, it's a safety issue, but it's bigger than that. It's a human problem. It's humanity, and I was in a position where I felt I had to protect my wife, and my son, and my daughter, and my band members at all costs, which would mean going into combat mode with my Country.”
This article was originally published by festival-dressing-room-1235938735/” target=”_blank”>The Hollywood Reporter.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/the-war-and-treaty-cotton-plant-festival-dressing-room-interview-1235724906/
