The St. Cloud Municipal Band is believed to have started after the Civil War (1865), when union soldiers brought their instruments back home. At that time they were called the St Cloud Union Band, which later changed to the St. Cloud Municipal Band. We do not know for sure when the band came into existence, but in an obituary dated from 1875, it was stated that a member played with the band “for a number of years” by that time. The band was supported by community groups until the 1940s, when it became a program of the city of St. Cloud, Minnesota. However, by the early 2000s, the city no longer wanted the liability of the band anymore, so it asked the group to form its own nonprofit organization. This the first time that St. Cloud Municipal Band has appeared at Vintage Band Festival.