The War & Treaty were gracing award show stages, receiving Grammy nominations, and even achieving their first-ever platinum single before Cowboy Carter made waves and showed what some people really thought of black people being in the country music realm.
However, success and recognition for musicians of color in the country genres do not imply escaping the long list of racial presumptions and microaggressions inherent in these areas of the music industry.
An alleged racist incident that happened backstage at the Coca-Cola Sips and Sounds Music Festival in Austin, Texas, has been described in detail by American country duo The War and Treaty.
The husband-wife country singers told The Hollywood Reporter that;
“There was a cotton plant” in their room, which they found quite unpleasant, before their performance on June 29 at the Austin event.
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The June 29th and 30th festivals featured Jon Pardi and Kelsea Ballerini as the main headliners.
Despite discovering a cotton plant in their dressing room prior to their performance, The War and Treaty entered the stage in Austin.
Instead of remaining silent in the wake of the incident, they have spoken up about what happened and why they decided to continue performing at the Coca-Cola Sips and Sounds Music Festival, even though they felt it was a racially motivated event.
Everyone is aware of what that implies. Michael told The Hollywood Reporter, “We all know what that represents in this country to people that look like us.”
He claimed that the plant in the dressing room caused him to feel “anger,” “disrespect,” and “sadness,” even if it wasn’t made clear who had done it.
Michael went on to say, “I proudly served my country in the United States Army 16th Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 1st Rifle Division. I’m hurt because of that service. I felt duped because I talk a lot about my scars and wounds.
The majority of the acts scheduled for the Coca-Cola Sips and Sounds Music Festival will never have to endure the same outrage due to their skin tone. It isn’t just. White artists don’t need to be concerned about it at all. It just so happens to emerge from within this genre,” he remarked.
It “hits hard when you are the granddaughter of a sharecropper,” Tanya remarked.
She also disclosed that her family still resides on the plantation her grandfather purchased, where he used to pick cotton.
Tanya added, “Anybody with melanin in their skin, you have to provide an environment of safety for them.”
She said that it is now a safety problem for The War and Treaty at future similar music festivals, saying that it goes “beyond just being about racism.”
“There was no purposeful harm intended, and we sincerely apologize,” the festival responded to The Hollywood Reporter.
Their concerns were addressed very quickly, with the event organizers personally speaking with the artists to reassure them that this was an honest error, removing the décor, and extending a sincere apology in person.
