Kovacs

On 29 January 2027 Kovacs will perform at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht. Behind that name is Sharon Kovacs (born 1990), a singer and songwriter who since the mid-2010s has been following her own course between soul, dark pop, rhythm-and-blues and a touch of trip hop. She broke through with “My Love” and the debut album Shades of Black (2015), where her deep voice and restrained delivery are carried by cinematic arrangements. She went on to play major festival stages — from North Sea Jazz to Lowlands, Pinkpop, Rock Werchter, Glastonbury and Sziget — and released the second album Cheap Smell (2018), made with producer Liam Howe, on which her palette opened up further.

In recent years Kovacs has alternated between standalone singles and collaborations, including with Parov Stelar (“Snake Charmer”) and the Metropole Orchestra. In 2023 Child of Sin was released, produced with Jonathan Quarmby; the title track features a contribution from Till Lindemann. Live, Kovacs melds these threads into a spare, atmospheric set in which soul and pop meet. In Utrecht she will perform material from Shades of Black, Cheap Smell and Child of Sin alongside more recent songs, with her voice central and the songs tightly in service of the story.