The War and Treaty on Country Music’s Shifting Goalposts

The War and Treaty have CMA and ACM nominations to their name, but Michael Trotter still hears that his duo with wife Tanya doesn’t “sound country enough.” In a recent episode of Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, he pointed to the inconsistency: “When you say things like we don’t ‘sound country enough’ and then Morgan becomes Number One and his art is, in my opinion, not country enough… Hmmm, this is a very interesting thing that’s happening here.”

The double standard has pushed the Trotters toward self-determination. Last month’s album The Story of Michael and Tanya arrived on a new label, and they’ve launched their own management company. Tanya framed it as intentional redirection. “You go where people want you to be, you take what you can get from that space, and you bring it back home to the root,” she said. “Americana is roots music. So, everything starts from the roots.”

That recalibration follows a tangible snub. Despite releasing the Nashville-focused album Plus One in 2025, the duo received no nominations at this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards. On the podcast, they discussed the refusal to play Music Row’s game, Michael’s military background, and his thoughts on patriotism. The move toward roots spaces isn’t a retreat. It’s a recognition that the gatekeepers keeping them at arms’ length aren’t the only ones defining the genre.