The American Band is a community band based in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded as a military band in 1837 by Joseph C. Greene. During its early years, the members were the highest paid in the country - even higher than the New York Philharmonic in its first season. Since its founding, the band has performed near-continuously until the present day, and is one of the oldest bands in the country still performing. Many of the members are music educators, and others are involved in other careers.

Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, it is one of the oldest cities in New England, founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence" which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers. The city developed as a busy port, as it is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay.