The husband-and-wife duo performed before the Fiesta Bowl.
Can we nominate The War and Treaty to sing the National Anthem before every sporting event from now on? The country music duo were asked to sing ahead of college football’s 2026 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl game on Thursday (Jan. 8), and they did the genre so proud.
Michael Trotter and Tanya Trotter — yep, they’re husband and wife — took the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and Michael was fully decked out in an American flag jacket for the occasion. With a gargantuan American flag outstretched across the field, the fireworks, Tanya hitting those notes and the tears filling our eyes, it was a lot to take in.
The last time The War and Treaty sang before a big game, when the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys played the Las Vegas Raiders in November, one fan called it “one of the best National Anthem performances I’ve ever heard.” Nothing has changed.
Several football fans echoed that sentiment in the comments section on ESPN’s YouTube page, with one person writing on the latest performance that it was “one of the finest renditions of our National Anthem that I have ever heard. Many thanks to the performers for their service, and their tastefully done piece.”
That about sums it up.
The Miami Hurricanes bested the Ole Miss Rebels 31-27 in the end.
The Trotters’ enthusiastic patriotism is as authentic as it gets: Michael is a two-tour war veteran, having served in the United States Army. During his deployment, he picked up learning to play piano at the encouragement of his commander, though he’s always had a passion for singing. While the Grammy-nominated duo are still relatively fresh to mainstream country music, they’ve been a well-kept secret for fans of bluegrass and blues for years. Their latest studio album, Plus One, came out last Valentine’s Day, just shy of two years after their major label debut on Mercury Records Nashville.
The War and Treaty have more than a dozen live shows booked going into 2026, including a large chunk across Canada. They’ll play the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival in Bristol, Tennessee this September.
