In the space of less than four years, Brighton, England's The Kooks have gone from art students to multi-platinum Britpop stars. The band's name was inspired by a David Bowie lyric, but The Kooks' primary musical allusions lean more toward the mellower end of Supergrass or The Libertines. The band actually made their US debut at SXSW 2006, but have mainly played the coasts since then, making this gig a rare opportunity to catch them in our area.

The songs "She Moves In Her Own Way" and "Naive" off The Kooks' 2006 debut Inside In/Inside Out were massive hits in the UK, pushing the album to #2 on the pop charts. 2008's follow-up Konk debuted at #1, and spawned another hit with "Always Where I Need To Be," which showcases a noisier but still polished side of the group's sound. The set was produced by veteran producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air, Phoenix), and has received glowing reviews from the rock critics who aren't afraid of the band's unapologetic pop-rock style. The Kooks have obviously found a few fans in Austin, as Saturday's gig at Antone's is sold out. Thankfully, we have an opportunity for you to win a pair of tickets by entering the contest below.

Opening Saturday's bill are the Athens, GA outfit The Whigs, who wowed us at Paste's 2008 SXSW party with their very straightforward yet massive rock sounds. The band have made fans of everyone from Franz Ferdinand to Drive-By Truckers, and are hitting Austin for the second time in a month after opening for Tokyo Police Club back in September. Fans of "big rock" like Kings Of Leon and Pearl Jam will find much to like here, as would fans of 80's pop-rock like INXS, as the group aren't afraid to go full-on with their bridges and choruses, and are playing some seriously arena-friendly material, The Whigs are touring behind this year's release Mission Control, which earned them a lot of comparions to both The Replacements and Foo Fighters (we disagree, and point you to our ideas of what they sound like above!)

For a chance to see both The Kooks and The Whigs this Saturday, enter your details in the boxes below.

This contest is closed due to the show being canceled.

The Kooks - Always Where I Need To Be Video: