When husband-and-wife duo Michael Trotter, Jr and Tanya Trotter—better known as The War and Treaty—called, they were processing the shock of the Covenant School shooting in their adopted hometown of Nashville. True to form, the pair treated this horrifying event as a chance to discuss tough topics and underscore the importance of compassion and inclusion.

The reigning Americana Music Association Duo/Group of the Year and 2020 Folk Alliance Artist of the Year award winners meld soul, gospel and country into one smooth genre.

When asked, they’ll tell you their ministry is “love and bringing people together.” But it’s more. Possessing an electrifying live presence—as evidenced recently by a sold-out Troubadour show and a powerful Kimmel appearance—they embody a ride-or-die chemistry that’s jaw-dropping.

Working with Grammy Producer of the Year nominee Dave Cobb, the pair delivered the 10-song set Lover’s Game earlier this year, and its organic, robust and downright churchy sound invokes vintage Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin or Ronnie Milsap in Muscle Shoals or Memphis.

As Nashville residents and parents—as well as Michael’s stellar military career, during which he earned a Global War on Terrorism Ribbon, an Army Commendation and an Iraq Campaign Medal—both members of The War and Treaty speak from the heart. Whether addressing recent unfortunate events, breaking ground in country music or their musical “ministry,” which speaks to complicated human emotions and dynamics, they—and their songs—deliver love and awareness for all.

About what happened at Covenant School...

Michael Trotter: As parents, we’re a little shook. It’s difficult to process because it’s our home. Last month, 18 teenagers were killed in Washington, D.C., and no one mentioned it. We can’t not feel these things.

Tanya Trotter: It’s so difficult. The families of the victims are heartbroken, but the family of the assailant is heartbroken, angry and sad too. The turmoil and trauma pushes people. It’s no excuse, but it’s a reality—and it’s hard to remember the whole of it.

Michael: Having real open conversations about mental health and protection is so critical. You see so many communities reaching out to be understood—transgendered, women, people of color, all worried about the rights of their children. Everyone wants the same thing: a decent family to come home to and love.

Tanya: It’s pretty simple: love, respect, trust.

Concentric circles, really. Your music is built on that.

Michael: The last song on the record, “Have You a Heart,” is all that. What’s in your heart? What are you using that for? Look at country music: It’s come a long way. But it’s understanding what goes into country music. You know, you can’t accept Ray Charles and not accept The War and Treaty. We’re trying to prove the existence of all that was... This is our offering to country music.

Tanya: It’s not lost on us that there are commentators putting out that this isn’t country music.

Michael: Kris Kristofferson said “Country music is the white man’s blues” at the Hall of Fame, and I tensed a bit. What about saying, “Country music isn’t the white man’s, and the blues isn’t the Black man’s?” On paper, there are similarities, but at the end of the day, we’re all human and we all have the same feelings and stories.

Tanya: When you are all of it and lead with the heart, that love transcends everything. Regardless of what you call it, love is love. Gospel, blues, folk music, calypso, jazz, Christian music, country…? There’s so much that’s shared.

Michael: Tanya’s right. It is about love. Being intentional and putting your heart and soul into it, that’s where people come together.

Tanya: Michael and I are very conscious: we have to wake people up with heart consciousness, to remind them that it all starts there.

You’re almost a ministry.

Michael: Not in the way the church would like to present, but it’s more that music can heal. That’s what we call our church—The Church of The War and Treaty. We’re not giving history, but the idea of love and coming together.

Tanya: Ministry is something you’re dedicated to full-time. Our fans. Our family. Our music. It’s about changing lives and how music touches people.

Michael: In this life, it is lonely. You constantly ask, “Am I doing the right thing?” In a world where it pays off to be mean and nasty, to be rude. It feels like they win, and you can wonder. That’s why we want to take hands and hold them across the aisles. It takes time, but that’s the blessing.

You’re also bringing real, grown-up man/woman dynamics.

Michael: I think what country music’s forgotten is what it’s like to have an actual duo that’s male and female. Every now and then, you get HARDY and Lainey Wilson, something put together. But if you go back...

Tanya: There’s Kenny Rogers and Dottie West, George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn…

Michael: That can be our contribution to country music. Those songs, the heart. I don’t know if there’s ever been a Black country-music husband-and-wife duo, but we’re here—and it’s a big deal to us.