P.J. Loughran (pronounced, Lo'ck-rin) is an American born musician, illustrator, and songwriter. In addition to creating illustrations for The New York Times, Newsweek, and Time, he has two full length records to his credit.

PJ grew up in Albertson, Long Island, listening to the sounds streaming out of the tape deck of his family’s station wagon - Simon and Garfunkel while mom was driving, and Irish Folk when dad was at the wheel. And like every kid growing up in the 'burbs at the time, 80’s pop filled the rest of his head space, including the sounds of the Police, Billy Joel and Men at Work. From a young age, PJ had exhibited a natural affinity for art and music, eventually developing his drawing skills and discovering jazz as a saxophone player in high school.

By graduation, PJ had made the somewhat "practical" decision to put music aside to pursue a career in art. He enrolled at Parsons School of Design and moved to the big city, all the while keeping his hands dirty in the local music scene, playing sax (and singing backup vocals) in numerous bands and eventually picking up the guitar, allowing him to explore the fundamentals of songwriting. He eventually graduated with a degree in illustration. His client list includes hundreds of national and international publications and his illustrations appear regularly in Esquire, Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, GQ, Fortune, Forbes, and the New York Times, among others.

With a steady illustration career in place, PJ hit the New York open mic scene in January of 2001 to hone his craft, armed only with the few tunes he'd developed in his art school days. By the summer, he'd assembled a band, completed a full repertoire of material and set up a regular show schedule.

PJ's debut release "Grenadine" (2003), co-produced by Stephen Shirk, garnered much attention on the internet. Within a year, PJ was already hitting the road including dates with R.E.M., Maroon 5, Taj Mahal, Todd Rundgren, Jonny Lang, and the North Mississippi All-Stars. PJ became known for his energetic live performances, approachable presence and acrobatic "scat" vocals.

PJ's sophomore release, "Sunrise Run" (2006), demonstrated his growth as a writer, and the evolution of his ensemble. The band is featured front and center, most notably David Oromaner on Drums and John McFaul on Bass, along with PJ's saxophone prowess. The record articulates PJ's journey from coffee house troubadour to touring musician, and his personal evolution along the way. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.