The Kooks have announced a series of UK outdoor gigs for 2026.
The Brighton band will play a number of shows next summer to mark the 20th anniversary of their acclaimed debut album Inside In/ Inside Out – which featured hits such as Naive, She Moves In Her Own Way and Seaside.
The Kooks will be performing at Delamere Forest in Northwich on June 17, Scarborough Open Air Theatre on June 18, Live at The Piece Hall in Halifax on June 19 and Canons Marsh Amphitheatre for Bristol Sounds on June 23.
Inside In/ Inside Out catapulted The Kooks to stardom as it sold over two million copies and was responsible for defining an era of music.
Two decades on, the band made up of lead vocalist Luke Pritchard, guitarist Hugh Harris and drummer Alexis Nunez continues to resonate with a new generation thanks to sold-out tours and performances on festival main stages.
News of the 2026 concerts comes shortly after The Kooks concluded a run of their biggest ever headline shows, which culminated with a career-defining gig at London’s O2 Arena earlier this month.
The Kooks released their seventh studio album Never/Know earlier this year and Luke recalled how he wrote the record extremely quickly.
He told the Daily Mail: “I wrote it at home with my kids running around. Having come from heaven, through hell and back with Hugh (Harris) and the band, we’ve been through such a journey.
“It’s got quite shoegaze in the indie scene, which I love, but it’s quite gloomy. We are just consumed by being told all the time that everything’s so bad.
“And this one, it just flew out of me. I don’t know if that will happen again, but it was wild. It was like five days, and I had 10 songs.”
Pritchard hopes that the music of The Kooks can help people going through difficult times as he discussed the art form’s importance.
He said: “Music is really important, and I feel like people will gravitate more towards the arts and things when things are tricky, because it gives you hope.”
The Kooks’ 2026 summer shows:
Wednesday 17 June – Delamere Forest – Northwich
Thursday 18 June – Scarborough Open Air Theatre – Scarborough
Friday 19 June – Live at The Piece Hall – Halifax
Tuesday 23 June – Bristol Sounds – Canon Marsh Amphitheatre – Bristol
