Ottawa's CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Festival Announces Full 2026 Lineup! w/ The Creepshow, Beyond Creation, Hellripper, The Damn Truth, Bad Waitress and lots more!

Capital Punishment Festival has unveiled its full lineup for 2026, returning to Ottawa's ByWard Market from November 26 to 29, 2026, across four cornerstone live music venues: 27 Club, Dominion Tavern, Rainbow Bistro, and Avant-Garde Bar. Presented by Chord Productions and supported by Ottawa Tourism, the festival continues its mission of showcasing Canada's thriving underground music community through four days of metal, punk, hardcore, rock, alternative, and extreme music.

​Marking its largest edition to date, Capital Punishment Festival will feature more than 80 artists from across Canada performing on multiple stages throughout the ByWard Market. Festival-goers can experience every performance with an all-access festival pass priced at just $50, making it one of the country's most affordable destination music festivals.

​"Events such as Capital Punishment play an important role in strengthening Ottawa's profile as a dynamic cultural destination," says Michael Crockatt, President & CEO of Ottawa Tourism.

​​"Ottawa Tourism supports this unique music experience through its Nightlife Tourism Development Fund for its efforts in attracting visitors, animating our ACE District, and drawing music enthusiasts from across the region and beyond to enjoy our diverse music ecosystem. By bringing together acclaimed underground artists and local talent, the festival creates opportunities for visitors to explore the city, discover local businesses and venues, and contribute to the economic activity that helps sustain a vibrant and welcoming downtown experience," adds festival organizer Christina Kasper of Chord Productions.

Headlining the 2026 edition are progressive death metal innovators Beyond Creation, psychobilly legends The Creepshow, acclaimed rock outfit The Damn Truth, and Scotland's blackened speed metal force Hellripper. They join an extensive lineup of Canadian underground talent including Bad Waitress, DBC, BARF, Ghoulunatics, Insurrection, Entropy, Reanimator, Global Holocaust, Thunderkok, Warsenal, BornBroken, Duskwalker, Human Compost, Mortuary Slab, Gland, Hatred Reigns, Last Retch, Dissentient, Raider, A Scar For The Wicked, Catastrophic Hemorrhage, Soulthief, Northwalk, Peer Pressure, This Hell With You, This Disaster, Lost, Feral Union, Mindreader, Ratpiss, Acid Rot, Shroud, The Scepter, Sociably High, Glom, Pop Culture Icons, Goat!, Backyard Witchcraft, Rotual, Hempress, Drofnosura and many more.