March 18, 2007 1:30

The Walkmen frontman arrested at SXSW

Hamilton Leithauser spends time in Texan jail

The lead singer of The Walkmen was arrested at South by Southwest on Thursday (March 15).

Hamilton Leithhauser was taken into custody by police and brought to the Travis County Jail following an incident at the Crown Plaza Austin Hotel.

"I got arrested and spent 12 hours in a jail cell," Leithauser told NME.COM. "It was a real treat!"

Although a bit fuzzy on the details, Leithauser insisted that it was a "misunderstanding" on the part of the hotel, but admitted he had been drinking a lot before the incident occurred.

Leithauser was released the following day, just in time to play several gigs with his band at South By SoutWest.

For all the latest blogs, gossip and news live from SXSW, check out NME.COM/newmusic.

Meanwhile The Walkmen are set to hit the road as the main support on the forthcoming NME Presents Kaiser Chiefs tour, which will see the British band bringing their second album to north America for the first time.

They play:

Philadelphia Electric Factory (April 6)
Washington 9:30 Club (7)
Boston Avalon Ballroom (9)
New York Roseland Ballroom (12)
Montreal Spectrum (17)
Toronto Kool Haus (18)
Chicago Vic Theatre (20)
Minneapolis Trocaderos (21)
Vancouver Commodore Ballroom (24)
Seattle Showbox Theatre (25)
Portland Crystal Ballroom (26)
San Francisco Warfield Theatre (27)

The Walkmen will play the whole tour as special guests, while Annuals will open from the Philadelphia to Toronto dates, with The Little Ones playing the remaining shows.

Tickets are on sale now fromNME.COM, on January 24 from 11am Eastern Standard Time. Go to NME.COM/artists/kaiser-chiefs now.