The back story behind the soulful duo The War And Treaty is every bit as powerful as the music they create together.

Tanya Blount is the more readily recognizable member — if you’re stumped on first listen, take yourself back to the film Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit and her performance alongside Lauryn Hill of “His Eye Is On The Sparrow”.  With impressive charting for her debut album and a nod for Best New Artist on the Soul Train Awards, Blount packs a voice full of heart.  Her musical (and personal — the couple married in 2011) match is indie Gospel singer Michael Trotter, a veteran whose combat experiences in Iraq and subsequent struggles upon his return home lend a poignant urgency to their songs.  In a recent interview, Trotter noted, “Once you come out, there’s no training on how to be a veteran…  You try to be a civilian again, but you’re never a civilian again…”

Together, their sound is a folk-blues fusion that thrives in their harmony; their words, at turns stark, haunting, yet also inspiring.

Their debut release, set for 2015, is a live album — The War And Treaty: Live At Blue House Studios.  In keeping with Trotter’s personal experiences and the origins of the songs (many composed during his time in Iraq), the duo have committed 50% of digital proceeds to Operation Second Chance, an organization committed to helping wounded veterans and their families in the US.  Having seen and experienced first-hand the challenges that veterans face as they struggle to reintegrate, their hearts opened to the organization’s work.

You can download the first single, “Maryland” now at their official site, where you can learn more about The War And Treaty and their music.