Michael Trotter had to "literally crawl over rock and... debris from the explosions to get to this piano". He was serving in Iraq, when his Captain suggested Michael learn to play music to cope with his fear during war. Years later Michael met and married Tanya Blount, who began her own music career as a teenage R&B ingénue. They now make music together as The War and Treaty. On their debut album Healing Tide, produced by Buddy Miller, Tanya and Michael invest their rootsy, gospel-inspired songs with all the wisdom and determination their years reaching this point had produced. They perform live and share their story with Ann Powers.