
Boy Scout Band, OK

1917? The Scouts got a hand with the horn and drums.
The Arabian Knights 1929
Not an electrified guitar in sight - bet they sounded great! (BTW - love the background curtains.)
1926 school band

A whole row of violins - and they're all girls!
1940, WPA

It looks like these little darlings made their own instruments. SO cute!
Band at the Mayflower Mine

1903 - hearing good music in the great outdoors. Always a treat.
A 1900 band
With guns???? Guess you better have liked their music!
Children's home band, 1928

They're not exactly smiling, and times must have been hard, but music must have picked up their spirits.
Army band, 1919

There's plenty to offend in this photo of the WWI band. That was entertainment in 1919.
French brass band

I hear Sousa music when I look at them!
Coronet band, 1909

Again with the Sousa! (Since it was NY, they probably did play some Sousa.)
Fiddle band, 1930's
I still love the fiddle - maybe it's my Kentucky roots?
Post office band
Not a very big band but with all of those drums, they must have made some noise!
1918?
The description says 1915 but the banner says 1918 - they are a spiffy bunch!
Family band, late 1910's
Before radio became common in homes in the 1920's, families provided their own entertainment. The zither!
Civil War Drum Corps, 1863

They may not have marched into battle like in the Revolutionary War, but they must have boosted morale.

They look very relaxed in this photo.
Military band, 1923

In contrast, this military band is "getting down"!
Christian Brothers band

1932 - they look very impressive.
1926 Jazz band

This school jazz band (from our hometown, San Jose) is so clean cut!
Today, most bands have some electronic instruments but these photos show simply humans and their instruments - celebrating music as it has been played for thousands of years (before radio, tv, and the internet brought entertainment to you).
Click "next page" below to see photos more entertainers from the past.