The Albion-bred, soulful Americana band returned to Grand Rapids St. Cecilia Music Center for a rousing Friday concert that was taped for a future live release. The review and photos.
Homecoming Romp: Michael and Tanya Trotter delivered rock, gospel, country and more on Friday. (Photo/Anna Sink)
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“Can I Get an Amen?”
When Michael and Tanya Trotter of The War and Treaty on Friday musically beseeched their St. Cecilia Music Center audience for a response at the end of their sold-out show, it came in robust, adoring and thunderous fashion — again and again.
That’s because the nationally acclaimed, soulful Americana and rock duo that got its start in Albion, Mich., returned to St. Cecilia with passionate, gospel-fueled gusto, accompanied by a top-shelf band led by fellow Michigander, guitarist and production manager Max Brown.
Opener: Tiera Kennedy (Photo/Anna Sink)
Friday’s Grand Rapids concert – the Emmy Award-winning group’s first concert at St. Cecilia since a triumphant 2019 performance in Royce Auditorium – was one of several being recorded for an upcoming live album that the band plans to release independently. Michael Trotter told Local Spins that he’s insisting that the live release prominently feature the audience as well as the band.
“The plan is to give people what they want to hear,” Tanya Trotter said. “A lot of what we do is the live experience.”
That live experience was special on Friday, and the capacity crowd of 600-plus participated throughout the night when prompted for sing-alongs, chants and numerous standing ovations.
After an impressive opening set from Alabama native and Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tiera Kennedy — who turned heads from the get-go with her crystalline, powerful voice enhanced by a touch of country twang — The War and Treaty unleashed an evening that was part rock spectacle, part gospel revival and part country honky-tonk.
ELECTRIFYING HARMONIES AMID A CAREER-SPANNING SET
“Are you ready for a rock ‘n’ roll show tonight?” Michael Trotter roared early on, and the band then proceeded to deliver a 90-minute-plus set that was certainly louder and more animated than most concerts held inside the historic Royce Auditorium.
Touring behind their 18-track new album, “Plus One” (after the Trotters said they actually recorded 60 different songs for this project at the renowned Muscle Shoals FAME Studios), the duo was backed by a top-flight six-piece band — Brown, bassist/music director Tom Davis, drummer Jonathan “Bam” Holmes, organist Terrance “Slim” Holmes, guitarist Chris Collier and banjoist Taylor Shuck.
The band unfurled a high-energy, eight-year retrospective of its music — from early fan favorites such as “Hi Ho” and “Down to the River” to songs from “Plus One,” including “Love Like Whiskey” and “Stealing a Kiss” — all showcasing the duo’s electrifying harmonies and fervid vocals.
Embracing Michigan Fans: And backed by a top-shelf band. (Photo/Anna Sink)
Always on message with heartfelt compassion for their fellow human beings and insisting that they’re “rebellious about love,” part of that live experience on Friday included having the Trotters express their passion for Michigan and its supportive community. (The band plays another Michigan show tonight, at Detroit’s St. Andrew’s Hall. Tickets, $48, available online here.)
“Albion is always home,” Michael Trotter declared during an afternoon interview at St. Cecilia with Acoustic Café host Rob Reinhart, recorded for later broadcast. “You can’t take Michigan out of it (our music).”
“We always make sure we’re not too far from it,” Tanya Trotter noted. “We think, ‘What would Michigan think?’”
Well, if Friday was any indication, Michigan thinks The War and Treaty are brilliant ambassadors of the Great Lakes State — beloved ambassadors who stuck around long after the show to chat with fans and sign autographs.
In the end, the band and its West Michigan audience got the heartwarming homecoming they craved.
Amen, indeed.
PHOTO GALLERY: The War and Treaty at St. Cecilia Music Center
Photos by Anna Sink
