Half the world away, Oasis hire buskers to hawk their new album

Noel Gallagher's only two concerts planned for this year have been announced as part of a string of charity gigs climaxing with a performance of Quadrophenia by The Who. (REUTERS)

Oasis have hired buskers to debut some of their new tracks on the streets of New York.

The Manchester rockers announced they would unveil a handful of tracks from their forthcoming album by having street musicians perform them. The songs will be from their highly anticipated album Dig Out Your Soul, which is released in America on 7 October.

Yesterday, Oasis were scheduled to meet several buskers for a private rehearsal after which the street musicians were to take to different parts of the city to perform the new tracks "The Turning", "Bag It Up"', "(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady", and "The Shock Of The Lightning".

The event is a collaborative effort with New York's marketing and tourism organisation and the band's label Warner Bros. The street musicians will perform at locations including subway station platforms at Grand Central, Times Square, Penn Station and Astor Place.

Oasis recently embarked on a new world tour to promote their album but it was disrupted when Noel Gallagher was attacked by a man who invaded the stage midway through their headlining set at the V festival in Toronto. The assailant was wrestled to the floor by security. The band left the stage before later returning to finish their set.

Oasis have also teamed up with the Arts Council and the music magazine, NME, to encourage young people to pick up instruments. Instead of giving away downloads to promote their new album, as Coldplay have done, Oasis will give away a DVD and book featuring the sheet music and lyrics to three new songs with NME. The idea is aimed at promoting the Arts Council's "Take It Away" scheme, which provides interest-free loans for musical instruments.

Readers will be asked to reinterpret three songs without having heard them first. Noel Gallagher, the guitarist who has – in the past – argued that giving music away for nothing devalues it, said: "The gift of music is very special ... and anything that can bring music into a kid's life is an incredible thing."

Aspiring young musicians will be asked to submit their own versions of an Oasis song to a website, with the winning entry gaining the chance to travel to an Oasis gig anywhere in the world.