The War And Treaty made startling allegations against the Sips & Sounds Music Festival. The husband/wife country-singing duo alleged that a cotton plant was placed in their dressing room before their performance. Michael Trotter Jr. spoke about the initial discovery to The Hollywood Reporter. "There was a cotton plant [in our dressing room]. And we all know what that means. We all know what that represents in this country to people that look like us."
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Since then, the Sips & Sounds Music Festival has responded to the allegations.
"We are disheartened that the artists were ever uncomfortable at last weekend's event. There was no purposeful harm intended, and we sincerely apologize. Their concern was met with immediate action, including a heartfelt in-person apology, removal of the decor and a personal conversation with the artists by event organizers to assure them this was an honest mistake. The plant was part of the existing décor utilized by the venue well in advance of this event, long before the space was assigned to any artist and was removed immediately."
Unfortunately, the situation has invoked further "discussion" on social media.
The Sips & Sounds Festival Responds To The War And Treaty Allegations
"No disrespect but was this used in a decorative arrangement? Were similar arrangements in other dressing rooms? Cotton is the main crop grown in Texas by a large margin and is often used decoratively. Feel like more context is needed here," one X (formerly known as Twitter) user said to the pair on their page.
"To answer your question no. No other dressing room had it. We were the only black band and regardless of what it is used for in that state it represents something totally different to people who look like us," The War And Treaty directly responded.
The whole situation is unfortunate as some people approached The War And Treaty's perspective and experience with skepticism and indignation rather than looking to understand them. It's more disheartening considering conversations about such racial insensitivities or nuances are scoffed at first in some circles. As it stands, however, the festival apologized, and The War And Treaty felt empowered to say their piece. Often, that's the "best" one can hope for.
