Entertainment
The War and Treaty Were Left in ‘Tears’ By Grammy Nominations on December 17, 2023 at 3:00 pm Us Weekly
When the nominations for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards were announced in November, The War and Treaty weren’t eagerly waiting to hear their name called — they were just trying to catch a plane.
“We were so used to being overlooked year after year to where we just didn’t pay attention,” Michael Trotter Jr., one half of the soulful husband-wife duo, exclusively told Us Weekly in a recent interview.
While discussing The War and Treaty’s partnership with George Dickel — and the launch of Dickel Bourbon Aged 18 Years — Michael said that he and his wife and bandmate, Tanya Trotter (née Blount), only learned they had netted two nominations when his phone started blowing up. “We were sitting in the airport, and my phone is just going absolutely berserk,” he recalled. “I’m like, ‘What is happening?’ And I looked down and I saw all these congratulations. I opened one of them up, and it’s talking about two Grammy nominations. And I immediately just come to tears.”
Michael said he wasn’t just expressing the joy of being nominated — he was also crying because it was a humbling moment.
“My tears weren’t just tears of joy,” he explained. “It was a mixture of [joy and], ‘I can’t believe that I was that self-centered that I was really just put off by the fact that I didn’t get nominated the year before or the year before that.’ And I had to get put back in check and realize, ‘Listen, it’s not about awards. It’s not about accolades. It’s not about Grammys. It’s literally about being a servant. And this is the response to your servanthood.’”
The War and Treaty Hailey Compton
Since forming in the mid-2010s, The War and Treaty have changed the perception of what country and Americana music could be — and who can make it. The duo released their major label debut album, Lover’s Game, in March. “Blank Page,” a song from the LP, earned a Best Americana Roots Song nomination at the upcoming Grammys, and the duo is also up for Best New Artist. They share the latter category with fellow nominees Jelly Roll, Ice Spice, Gracie Abrams, Fred Again, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan and Victoria Monét.
“Somebody somewhere said, ‘Hey, you know what? War and Treaty did something this year deserving of a certain kind of recognition,’” noted a very grateful Michael. “And to be nominated alongside Jelly Roll, I will say that that’s just another testimony in itself.”
While Michael noted that The War and Treaty and Jelly Roll are “both considered in the country music genre,” neither act “looks like the poster child for the [genre].” That itself, he notes, is a triumph.
“This whole category of best new artists is just filled with artists who have overcoming stories,” he adds. “Ice Spice, Coco Jones, you name them, and they’re there. And Noah. And so I’m very excited about the Grammys.”
Michael and Tanya speak with such warmth and comfort in their voices that their pairing with George Dickel to celebrate the launch of the limited-edition Dickel Bourbon Aged 18 Years is a perfect fit.
The War and Treaty performed at the historic Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. in Tennessee as part of the launch, even previewing a new song from their upcoming album. Tanya — who appeared in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit and released her solo album, Natural Thing, shortly afterward — described the evening as “wonderful.”
“Cascade Hollow, it reminds me of how I grew up and going to see my grandparents in the Carolinas,” she told Us. “And you get the feel of what it’s all about and the family environment that they have. We all enjoyed tasting [Dickel Bourbon Aged 18 Years] for the first time. It was really, really magical.”
“It also felt like we were coming together to celebrate the birth of something special and something very unique,” added Michael. “And I will say I’ve been a fan of the brand, but this moment and this particular tasting that Tanya and I had before we performed, it got me excited, man. I can see George Dickel Aged 18 Years actually in many different phases of life and being able to celebrate that.”
He added: “Tanya looked absolutely fabulous, as she always does.”
This has been a banner year for The War and Treaty, who won Duo/Group of the Year at the 2023 Americana Music Honors & Awards. They were also nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards, Duo of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and their song “That’s How Love Is Made” earned them a Duo/Group Video of the Year nomination at the CMT Music Awards.
Amid all that success, The War and Treaty remain centered, grateful and positive. “Life is a balance,” Tanya told Us. “You have to be able to take the good with the bad. And it sounds so simple, but we [as a people] really lean our energy to more bad because we spend too much time on the internet. Or we’re not spending enough time with people who are positive. Or maybe people don’t celebrate every good thing that happens. So, we’ve kind of made it our purpose with every milestone that happens in our life to celebrate.”
She explains that philosophy extends to the partnership with George Dickel. “It was important for us to keep honing in on the fact that this is a celebration,” she told Us. “This is George Dickel 18, it’s limited. Everyone can’t get it, that kind of thing. And that’s a parallel of life because a lot of people aren’t going to get why you’re happy.”
“A lot of people aren’t going to get why you celebrate because they’re so bogged down into the complexities of what life can bring,” Tanya continued. “But life is a balance of celebration and sadness, of life and death, of being born and dying. It’s the constant just trying to find your balance, being happy and being depressed. You can’t always be happy, and you can’t always be depressed.”
“I will say, in addition, for me, I’ve learned how not to compare misfortunes,” added Michael. “And what I mean by that is you hear a lot of people say, ‘Well, there’s always someone worse off.’ Well, that’s not a means to celebrate. What we can celebrate, though, is our victories. What we can celebrate is the times when we haven’t given up. And what we can do is to remind each other that there are wins. Yeah, there are losses, but there are wins.
Michael concluded by emphasizing the importance of keeping “togetherness” in the forefront. “We have to always be reminded of the thriving spirit of humanity,” he said. “And that’s something that we cannot afford to lose.”
When the nominations for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards were announced in November, The War and Treaty weren’t eagerly waiting to hear their name called — they were just trying to catch a plane. “We were so used to being overlooked year after year to where we just didn’t pay attention,” Michael Trotter Jr., one
Us Weekly Read More
Continue Reading
AfriqueFest: Pan-African Musical Experience — World Cup Edition is set to take over Noto Houston on Sunday, June 28, bringing together East, South, and West African sounds in one immersive celebration of music, culture, and connection. Presented by Experience Noir and Bolanle Media, the event is designed as a cinematic night for the culture, blending global energy with Houston nightlife in a way that feels elevated, intentional, and deeply rooted in African creativity.
Spotlight on DJ Shinski
At the heart of this year’s experience is DJ Shinski. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya and now based in Houston, DJ Shinski has built an international name off high-energy sets that move effortlessly across Afrobeats, Amapiano, hip‑hop, dancehall, reggae, and electronic sounds.
He has also become Africa’s most‑subscribed DJ on YouTube, crossing the 2‑million‑subscriber mark and turning his mixes into a global destination for music lovers.
DJ Shinski’s style is precise but unpredictable: one moment it’s classic Afrobeats, the next it’s East African anthems, then a run of throwback hip‑hop or R&B that still feels fresh. That ability to read a room and connect multiple worlds in a single set is exactly why AfriqueFest is building so much of the night’s energy around him.
At AfriqueFest, DJ Shinski helps drive the Safari Grooves segment, representing East and Central Africa from 4 PM to 6 PM. Expect a journey that moves from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, Kampala, Addis, and beyond, all filtered through his signature “vibes on vibes” approach behind the decks.
DJ Tunez and the rest of the night
Supporting that energy, DJ Tunez leads the Gold Coast Beats chapter from 8 PM to 10 PM, bringing his own Nigerian‑American Afrobeats pedigree to the stage. Together with the Diamond Rhythms segment (South) and a curated roster of DJs, the night stretches across the continent in three distinct musical chapters, all connected by a single dance floor.
Hosted by @chris_gone_crazy, @kingdrewwskyy, @roselynomaka, and @samsnewleaf, AfriqueFest is positioned as more than a party—it’s a celebration of sound, style, and Pan‑African identity in Houston, with DJ Shinski anchoring the experience from the moment doors open.
Brought to you by Bolanle Media & Experience Noir
Brought to you by Bolanle Media and Experience Noir, this World Cup edition of AfriqueFest is crafted as a night where global DJs, storytellers, and music lovers collide and create a shared cultural memory. With DJ Shinski front and center—and DJ Tunez helping close the night—guests can expect a show that reflects both the future of African nightlife and the power of the diaspora to create unforgettable live moments.
If you want to experience DJ Shinski live at AfriqueFest, now is the time to lock in your spot. Purchase your tickets now at AfriqueFest.com and get ready for a night of music, movement, and culture at Noto Houston.
Laughter Meets Inspiration: Our Ladies Show Lands on The Roku Channel
A bold new sketch comedy series for women premieres June 13 across the U.S., U.K., and Canada — arriving on the back of a festival-winning run that has critics and audiences already paying attention.
It isn’t every day a brand-new comedy arrives already wearing a row of trophies. Our Ladies Show does. The seven-episode inspirational sketch comedy series — created, written by, and starring Christin Jezak — begins streaming on The Roku Channel on Friday, June 13, 2026, available free to viewers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.
Produced in partnership with global media services leader Encompass Digital Media, the series sets out to do something rare in today’s streaming landscape: make women laugh out loud and leave them lifted. In a media moment crowded with noise and cynicism, Our Ladies Show is a deliberate counterweight — comedy with a conscience, built for women of every age and background.
A Show Built Around Real Life — and Real Laughs
Each of the seven episodes opens with a monologue from one of the cast members introducing the theme, then rolls into three or more sketches that hit the subject from every comedic angle. The series tackles the things women actually carry: holding grudges, comparison, beauty, patience, gift giving, the importance of community, and dealing with anxiety.
The comedy comes from a place of warmth rather than mockery — a “laugh at ourselves” spirit that runs through a gallery of unforgettable characters: a nosey neighbor, an overwhelmed mom, relentlessly optimistic flight attendants, beauty pageant winners past their prime, and a crew of unruly campers with a counselor who simply cannot hold it together.
Then the show does something most sketch series don’t. In the final segment of every episode, the cast gathers in a living-room setting and invites the audience in — sharing real inspiration drawn from the theme, the sketches, and their own personal stories. It’s the moment the laughter turns into something that stays with you.
The Women Behind the Show
Our Ladies Show brings together three performers with serious range:
- Christin Jezak — creator, writer, and star (Miracle at Manchester, Raising Hope, Jimmy Kimmel Live!)
- Hillary Hawkins — (Primal, Nick Jr.’s Play Along, Gullah Gullah Island)
- Sarah Hernandez — (Nefarious, Unplanned, House of Payne)
“In a world with so much division and depression, I hope women of all ages and backgrounds will watch this show, laugh, be reminded of how beautiful, unique, and loved they are, and remember how much we need each other.”— Christin Jezak, Creator & Star
Already a Festival Favorite
The series’ recurring long-form sketch, Neighborhood Watch, didn’t arrive quietly. Originally released as a web series and revamped for Our Ladies Show with new footage, sound, and music, it has been sweeping the festival circuit:
- 🏆 Best Webseries — 2026 New Media Film Festival (Los Angeles)
- 🏆 Best Web/TV Series — Paris Film Awards
- 🏆 Best Web Series — Dallas Movie Awards
- 🏅 Additional wins at the London Movie Awards, Florence Film Awards, and Hollywood Gold Awards
- 🎬 Official Selection — 2026 Harvard Divinity School Film Fest
- ⭐ Finalist — Houston Comedy Film Festival
- 📣 Three nominations — 2025 Content Christian Media Conference, including Best Actress in a TV and Web Series nods for both Christin Jezak and Sarah Hernandez
Where and When to Watch
Our Ladies Show premieres Friday, June 13, 2026, streaming on The Roku Channel — the home of premium and free entertainment — in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. All seven episodes deliver the series’ signature blend of sharp sketch comedy and genuine encouragement.
Watch the trailer now on your platform of choice:
For more information, visit www.ourladiesshow.com and follow @ourladiesshow on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
About Christin Jezak
Christin Jezak has worked for over 15 years in the entertainment industry. She created and stars in Our Ladies Show and the award-winning web series Neighborhood Watch. She produced the EWTN TV program For the Sake of the Gospel and the all-women web series Ladies Keepin’ It Real, played Dr. Sam in Miracle at Manchester (starring Dean Cain, Daniel Roebuck, and Eddie McClintock), and voices Agnes in the podcast Confessions of a Catholic Single. She held a lead role in a short film for NTT Data directed by Academy Award–winning cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, has co-starred on Raising Hope, and appeared in Jimmy Kimmel sketches and a Grubhub Super Bowl commercial.
About The Roku Channel
Roku pioneered streaming on TV and is the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico by hours streamed (Hypothesis Group, Dec. 2025). The Roku Channel is the home of premium and free entertainment, alongside Roku’s Howdy and Frndly TV services. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, California.
About Encompass Digital Media
Encompass Digital Media is a global managed services company — technology-driven, software-defined, and people-powered. Trusted by world-leading broadcasters, networks, sports rights-holders, and OTT platforms, it processes over 25,000 hours of content daily, serves 850 channels to 84 countries, distributes over 243,000 live events annually, and reaches 400 million radio listeners weekly worldwide. Learn more at www.encompass.tv.
Media & Interview Requests: To interview creator Christin Jezak or the cast, contact Christin at cjezak@p2ptheatre.com.
Most of the talk about Euphoria asks one question: was it realistic? That’s the wrong question if you make films. The better one is simpler. How did Sam Levinson get an audience to feel addiction from the inside? And what did it cost him to end the show the way he did?
Strip away the noise and Euphoria is a clinic in three choices: point of view, style, and the ending. Here’s what’s worth taking — and what isn’t.
1. Put the Camera Inside the Character
Most shows about drugs watch from across the room. Euphoria doesn’t. When Rue is high, the camera is high too. Walls breathe. Floors tilt. Time skips. You’re not watching her — you’re stuck inside her head.
That’s the lesson: point of view is a decision you make with the camera and the cut, not a mood you add later in color. Levinson builds it into the lens, the blocking, and the edit.
So before you shoot a scene through a character’s eyes, ask one thing on set: whose eyes is this lens standing in for? Then make every cut respect that.
2. Your Style Has to Mean Something
The glitter. The slow push-ins. The impossible club lighting. Euphoria‘s look got copied everywhere. That’s the trap.
The style worked because it carried weight. The beauty wasn’t decoration — it was the lie addiction tells you, the reason the next high looks worth it. The camera made self-destruction gorgeous on purpose.
The copies missed that. A thousand music videos took the look and left the meaning behind, and you can feel how hollow they are. So here’s the test: if your signature style could be swapped onto any other project and still “work,” it’s not a style. It’s a filter. Every choice should have a reason behind it.
3. The Ending Tells the Audience What It All Meant
When Euphoria ended for good in Season 3, Levinson killed Rue — an accidental, fentanyl-laced overdose. He called it “the honest ending,” saying he wanted to tell a true story about addiction and grief in a time when one mistake can be the last one. Reportedly, that wasn’t the original plan; the death of Angus Cloud, who played Fezco, changed the script.
Forget whether you agree with the choice. Study how it works. An ending is the last instruction you give your audience about how to read everything before it.
By ending on consequence instead of recovery, Levinson reframed seven years of beautiful chaos as a story about cost — not a celebration of it.
It’s also the show’s most debatable move, and that’s worth noticing too. A show that spent years making pain look beautiful had to fight to make that pain land as loss. Did it earn the ending, or enjoy the wreckage too long to stick it? Smart filmmakers will disagree — and that argument is exactly what a good ending is supposed to start.
What Not to Take
The neon grief is the most copied part. It’s also the least useful. Take the surface — the colors, the slow-mo, the trauma-as-texture — and you get the costume without the body.
The real craft is underneath. Commit your camera to a real point of view. Make every stylistic choice earn its place. Treat your ending as the point of the whole thing. Do that, and your work won’t look like Euphoria. It’ll do what Euphoria did.
This piece touches on addiction and substance use. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available through the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
Advice35 minutes ago
How Indie Filmmakers Actually Make Money In 2026
News1 day ago
How the New York Knicks Turned a Basketball Team into a Cultural Movement
Entertainment2 days ago
DJ Shinski Brings AfriqueFest To Life
Advice4 weeks agoHow to Make Your Indie Film Pay Off Without Losing Half to Distributors
- Advice4 weeks ago
How to Find Your Voice as a Filmmaker
- Entertainment4 weeks ago
Ozempic Era: Beauty, Lizard Venom, Big Pharma
- Film Industry3 weeks ago
67% Of Film Roles Are Now White Again — And Hollywood Knows Exactly What It’s Doing
- News4 weeks ago
Can AI Really Steal Your Fingerprints From a Selfie?
- Film Industry4 weeks ago
Actors Win AI Deal – But Your Face Is Still Training the Machine
- Business4 weeks ago
Building a 10 Million Army: One Leader’s Mission to Save Tomorrow
- Entertainment5 days ago
STREAMING PREMIERE · JUNE 13, 2026
