For artist and Louisiana native PJ Morton, whose music oscillates between soul, gospel and R&B, the remnants of the COVID-19 pandemic still linger. The surreal circumstances of the last two years prompted Morton to make Watch The Sun, his solo album that drops on April 29. Weaving a theme of palpable hope at a time when it remains in short supply, the album is the eighth studio project for the musician, who still maintains his decade-long role as one of two keyboardists for pop-rock band Maroon 5.
Born in New Orleans, Morton grew up in a musical household. Notably, his father is a pastor and gospel singer, which led him to learn to play instruments as a young child—though it was by ear and not formal instruction. “I started on drums, and then I started to mess around with keys,” he says. “I tried guitar for a minute, and then I went back to keys. I realized piano was the thing that came most naturally to me.”