The War & Treaty Named First-Ever Recipients of Origins Vanguard Award
The husband-and-wife duo will be honored at the third annual Origins Impact Awards in Nashville this November.
The War & Treaty are adding another milestone to a career that has never fit neatly inside one genre.
Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter will become the first recipients of the Origins Vanguard Award, a new honor recognizing artists whose work has helped expand country music while creating more space for those coming behind them.
The award will be presented during the third annual Origins Impact Awards, taking place Nov. 19 at Nashville’s historic Woolworth Theatre.
For The War & Treaty, the recognition feels particularly fitting.
Over the years, the husband-and-wife duo have built a sound rooted in country, soul, Americana and Southern music without feeling the need to choose between them. Their voices — separately powerful and even more striking together — have helped make them one of the most recognizable acts working across the country and roots landscape today.
Along the way, they’ve earned two Grammy nominations, CMA Awards recognition and an Emmy, while continuing to build a career centered around musicianship, storytelling and the chemistry that has become their signature.
But the Vanguard Award isn’t only about accolades.
It recognizes artists whose careers have helped push country music beyond some of its more traditional boundaries — something The War & Treaty have done simply by showing up as themselves.
Their recognition also comes during an awards ceremony built around a similar idea.
The Origins Impact Awards celebrate artists, songwriters, producers, executives, DJs, creators and community leaders contributing to the changing face of country music. This year’s group of finalists includes a wide range of artists familiar to Alt Blk Country audiences, including BRELAND, Blanco Brown, K. Michelle, Pynk Beard, The Boykinz, RVSHVD, Shy Carter, Kashus Culpepper, Kirk Jay, The Kentucky Gentlemen, Angie K, Dalton Dover and others.
Origins Music Group CEO and co-founder Corey Jones said the goal of the awards is to recognize artists without forcing them into a narrow idea of what country music should sound or look like.
That mission feels increasingly relevant as more artists continue to blur the lines between country, hip-hop, soul, pop, Americana and other genres — often bringing new audiences with them in the process.
The War & Treaty have been part of that evolution for years.
Their music doesn’t ask listeners to choose between soul and country, or between tradition and something new. Instead, they’ve built a career showing how naturally those worlds can exist together.
Now, becoming the first recipients of the Origins Vanguard Award gives that impact a name.
And in a country music landscape that continues to expand, The War & Treaty’s influence is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook.
The third annual Origins Impact Awards will take place Nov. 19 at the Woolworth Theatre in Nashville.
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