Stephen Mugford Strips It All Back on His Soul-Baring Live EP Unplugged

Rising singer-songwriter Stephen Mugford returns with Unplugged, a raw and intimate live EP that revisits fan favorites from his 2024 debut Palooza Beach—and adds new emotional depth with the reflective track “Runnin’.” The project feels like an artist shedding production layers to let his humanity take center stage, offering listeners a closer look at the man behind the melodies.

“It was a chance to capture the less filtered, raw feelings that all of these songs emanate from,” Mugford shares. “I love the produced versions, but these are simpler and more honest expressions of the deep emotions that were at the centre of each of them.”

Across stripped-down renditions of “Backside of the Moon,” “Wild Things,” and “Easy to Love,” Mugford explores love, ageing, parenthood, and imperfection with striking tenderness. The newly recorded “Runnin’,” written in just seven minutes and nearly left off the project, captures that perfect mix of exhaustion and beauty that defines his songwriting. “There’s something desperate in that take that somehow captures the point of the song — because it’s about fading,” he says.

Each track carries a story: “Easy to Love” is a love letter to his wife, “Wild Things” celebrates difference through the eyes of his children, and “Backside of the Moon” delves into the chaos and magic of parenthood. These songs, in their live, unpolished form, pulse with warmth and imperfection — the kind that feels real.

Joined by John Escobar (who traded his producer role for drums and rhythm guitar) and Zahili Gonzalez Zamora on piano, the sessions became an exercise in spontaneity and truth. The result is a body of work that feels less like a performance and more like a quiet confession.

With features in EARMILK, Notion, and a coveted spot in Rolling Stone UK’s “Artists to Watch in 2026,” Mugford is quickly becoming a defining voice in the new wave of singer-songwriters championing vulnerability as strength.