Some songs shine brightest when stripped down to their barest bones. For rising singer-songwriter Stephen Mugford, that rawness becomes the point of entry on Easy To Love (Live) — a tender reimagining of one of the standout tracks from his jazz-centric debut album Palooza Beach.
Where the studio version carried polish, this new live cut carries pulse — the immediacy of a moment that feels as though it could collapse if you breathe too heavily. Mugford leans into fragility, allowing his voice and guitar to stand unguarded, exposing both the cracks and the warmth that make love stories human.
Guided by the melodic ease of Jason Mraz, the timeless lyricism of Paul McCartney, and the earthy tenderness of Willie Nelson, Mugford doesn’t perform love as a grandiose spectacle. Instead, he offers it as a lived-in truth — imperfect, fleeting, but deeply resonant. The result is a track that feels destined for late-night playlists and romantic soundtracks, its acoustic lilt carrying more intimacy than ornamentation ever could.
This is just the first glimpse of what Mugford is shaping for his forthcoming live EP. Upcoming singles like Wild Things (an ode to his children) and Runnin’ (a meditation on aging with his wife, written in a lightning seven minutes) promise to expand the emotional palette. With each release, Mugford proves that vulnerability doesn’t weaken a song — it strengthens it, grounding it in the kind of truth that lingers.
As he steps further into this stripped-back territory, Mugford cements himself as a songwriter who thrives in the unvarnished. Easy To Love (Live) doesn’t just capture a performance — it captures the kind of fleeting, imperfect magic that reminds us why we return to music in the first place.
Verdict: Intimate, unguarded, and quietly powerful — Stephen Mugford turns simplicity into transcendence.
Photographer Adam DeTour
Photographer Adam DeTour
