Updated: Ottawa Explosion announces second round of bands (Low Culture, Mother’s Children, and more)

The Ottawa Explosion Weekend  is far and away my favourite festival every year, and this year’s initial lineup is simply bonkers.

Set to take place  June 12-15 in various venues around Ottawa, the preeminent punk festival has unveiled the first 25 bands playing this year, including the first Canadian shows for the Marked Men in nearly 8 years! 9See below for today’s additions.) The band are set to play a Dirtnap Records showcase at the festival, which also includes The White Wires, Steve Adamyk Band, Montreal’s own Sonic Avenues, and Voicemail (featuring Ian Manhire from The White Wires). 

While not on the list yet, Marked Men side-project Radioactivity, and fellow Texas punks Bad Sports (also both on Dirtnap Records) are set to play Toronto in June, so one can reasonably expect to see those names on the next official announcement. (UPDATE: Both bands are on a separate Canadian tour in late June.)

Below is the full list of bands announced today, followed by the initial earlier list:

THE ABANDOS (Philadelphia, PA) https://soundcloud.com/the-abandos
ALASKAN (Ottawa, ON) http://alaskan.bandcamp.com
ASILE (Ottawa, ON) http://www.purevolume.com/ASILE94858
AVERAGE TIMES (Ottawa, ON) http://averagetimes.bandcamp.com/
BEST FIENDS (Halifax, NS) http://bestfiends.bandcamp.com
BLUE ANGEL (Ottawa, ON) http://blueangel.bandcamp.com/
CAULDRON (Toronto, ON) http://cauldronmetal.tumblr.com/
DAD JOKES (Auckland, NZ) http://dadjokes.bandcamp.com
THE DAGGER EYES (Ottawa/Montreal) http://thedaggereyes.bandcamp.com
FIRST BASE (Toronto, ON) http://firstbase.bandcamp.com/
KAPPA CHOW (Sackville, NB) http://killerhazerecords.bandcamp.co…ller-haze-side
LATEX SQUAD (Hamburg, GER) http://trainwrecktapes.bandcamp.com/album/s-t-tape
LOW CULTURE (Las Cruces, NM) http://dirtnaprecords.bandcamp.com/a…ulture-screens
MOTHER’S CHILDREN (Ottawa, ON) http://motherschildren.bandcamp.com
OUTTACONTROLLER (Halifax, NS) http://outtacontroller.bandcamp.com
PINK WINE (Toronto, ON) http://ilikepinkwine.bandcamp.com
ROBERTA BONDAR (Ottawa,ON) http://roberta-bondar.bandcamp.com/
TV FREAKS (Hamilton, ON) http://teeveefreakzz.bandcamp.com
THE YIPS (Ottawa, ON) http://yips613.bandcamp.com
ZEX (Ottawa, ON) http://zexzexzex.com

Festival passes are on-sale now for $60, and can be purchased here.

Just to add to the excitement, here’s one of the full Marked Men sets from their 3-show run in Brooklyn  this past February.