The War & Treaty’s Max Brown eager to play home state again
When The War and Treaty play Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park on Friday, Aug. 1, and Interlochen Center for the Arts on Monday, Aug. 4, guitarist and production manager Max Brown will be right there up front, helping lead the charge for this award-winning, soulful, Americana duo.
“2025 has been a huge year for me and for the band. I'm really thrilled with the music we're making and the recognition that's been popping up,” said Brown, an Ann Arbor native and one-time Kalamazoo resident.
"It's really a privilege to be making music all over the world with them and exciting to be getting ready to head home to Michigan."
The group led by Michael and Tanya Trotter, which got its start in Albion, Michigan, more than a decade ago, has since become an award-winning, international phenomenon, earning widespread praise and a devoted following for its gospel-fired country, rock, blues and soul — an invigorating blend propelled by the duo's harmonies which have been featured frequently on national TV.
The War and Treaty released its fourth bona fide full-length album, "Plus One," earlier this year, followed by a seven-track live recording.
The band plays Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1; some tickets, $61-$63, still remain and are available online at meijergardens.org. They head north to perform at Interlochen at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 4; tickets for that concert, $38-$56, are available online at interlochen.orgoff-season.
Brown, who also has served as the group’s music director in the past, has relished the global, attention-getting and “life-changing” journey that he’s taken with the band over the past six years or so.
He’s helped guide The War and Treaty through its action-packed ascendance, including numerous high-profile festival appearances and a recent European run of shows with a 10-piece band.
Brown said he's "incredibly proud" of "Plus One," recorded at the historic Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala. Much of the album released in February was recorded live in-studio, without “relying too much on overdubs.”
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Brown also has his own studio where he invests his energy in the off-season.
"When I'm not on the road, I've been spending about 100 percent of my time working on my recording studio Glass House Studios that I co-own with some close friends in Nashville," he said.
But these days, he’s focused on touring that continues deep into the fall, with welcome stops back in his home state this month.
"Grand Rapids always feels like visiting my old backyard," he said. "I've probably spent a combined six months driving to and from gigs on U.S. 131 from my time in Kalamazoo, and coming back always feels like home."
— Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.
