During their last US tour, Los Angeles residents were able to catch the Kooks busking in the streets for Sidewalk Sets. Now, New York fans of UK wunderkinds The Kooks will have the opportunity to win a seat on a very special rock and roll tour of New York, and be witness to some outdoor performances of their own. One day ahead of the band’s show at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park on September 10th, the Kooks are treating a handful of lucky contest winners to a guided tour of the city’s most famous (or infamous) rock and roll sights, and will be taking their guitars along for the ride. It could possibly be the first acoustic show on the top of a double-decker bus New York City has ever seen. The tour will finish up at the Apple Store in Soho, where the band will be playing a free in-store show.

Courtesy of Astralwerks, 101.9 WRXP, VisitBritain, and Time Out New York, the grand prize winner will scoop two round trip flights to NYC, hotel accommodation for three nights, two seats on the double-decker tour bus with tour guide Matt Pinfield (101.9 WRXP morning show DJ), two spots at the in-store performance at the Apple Store in Soho, and two tickets to see The Kooks live at Central Park Summerstage on September 10th. To enter, head to the band’s homepage and the contest rules and regulations can be found here.

Keep your eye out for the soon-to-be-released ‘Gossip Girl’ soundtrack, featuring ‘Do You Wanna’, the second single from ‘KONK’. The album hits stores in September.

The Kooks – Do You Wanna

In other news, the Kooks are happy to announce that joining them on various stops of their upcoming US Fall tour will be The Whigs, Illinois, stellastarr* and The Wombats. Illinois will be taking on the North East and Canadian stops, with stellastarr* joining the melee for the Central Park Summerstage show in NY on September 10th. The Wombats will share the stage with the Kooks in New Jersey, and rounding out the rest of the US dates is Athens, GA trio The Whigs. For full information and new dates (including shows in Boston, Phoenix, and Honolulu), see below itinerary.

FALL 2008 US TOUR DATES
September 4th – Clinton, NY – The Annex at Hamilton College – all ages*

September 5th – Montreal, QC – Club Soda – all ages*
September 6th – Toronto, ON – Virgin Festival – all ages
September 8th – Washington, DC – 9.30 Club – all ages*
September 9th – New York, NY – Apple Store, Soho – all ages
September 10th – New York, NY – Rumsey Playfield Central Park*+
September 12th – Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony – all ages***
September 13th – Boston, MA – WFNX Disorientation – all ages
September 14th – Providence, R.I – Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel – all ages*
September 15th – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory – all ages*

September 27th – Phoenix, AZ – KEDJ-FM Edgefest – all ages
September 29th – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse – all ages**
September 30th – Baton Rouge, LA – Varsity Theatre – 18+**

October 2nd – Dallas, TX – House of Blues – all ages**

October 3rd – Houston, TX – Meridian – all ages**
October 4th – Austin, TX – Antone’s – all ages **
October 5th – Tulsa, OK – Cains Ballroom – all ages**
October 7th – St Louis, MO – The Pageant – all ages**
October 8th – Des Moines, IA – People’s Court – all ages**
October 9th – Madison, WI – Barrymore Theatre – all ages**
October 11th – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre – all ages**
October 12th – Cincinatti, OH – Bogarts – all ages**
October 14th – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall – all ages**
October 21st – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo – all ages**

October 22nd – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom – all ages**
October 24th – Sacramento, CA – Empire – all ages
October 25th – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre – all ages**

October 27th – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues – all ages**
October 28th – Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Palladium – all ages**
October 31st – Honolulu, HI – Pipeline Café – all ages
*with Illinois
+ with stellastarr*
**with The Whigs
***with The Wombats