Circus music is one of the shows main elements. Before the age of electronic keyboards, every circus had a live band. The most famous bandmaster of the early American circus was Karl L. King (1891-1971). He wrote almost 200 marches, most notably "Barnum & Bailey's Favorite" (1913).

"Entry of the Gladiators", also called "Thunder and Blazes", was written by Orion R. Farrar (1866-1925). This band song is still a popular with many circuses today.

The circus band music sets the pace and mood and cuing of the acts. Playing characteristic forms such as the march, the gallop, the fox trot, the tango, or various national themes, the circus band maintains the tempo of each event. The music sets the tone for the thrilling challenges of the high-wire acts and changes to light and comedic for the clowns. Building crescendos alert the audience that something big is going to happen.

The high priest of circus music, Merle Evans, served as bandmaster for 37 years with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey band. From 1919 to 1955, he never missed a performance except for part of one season during a musician's strike. His famous trademark was standing up and leading the bank with his left hand while holding a cornet in his right.

Circus bands never play John Phillip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever", during a regular performance of the circus. This famous march is reserved solely for emergency use. The music serves as a warning signal to every circus performer that an emergency has occurred. Examples when the band would play this march would be if there was an accident with one of the performers, an animal got loose, elements of nature threatened the integrity of the Big Top, or if a fire breaks out.

On July 6, 1944, in Hartford, Connecticut, a fire started on the sidewall of the big top of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Some 9,000 people were in attendance that fateful evening watching the Flying Wallendas as they began to prepare for their high-wire act. Because the tents had been waterproofed with a mixture of gasoline and paraffin, the entire tent was engulfed in flames within minutes. Many survivors of that fire remember Merle Evans and the band playing "The Stars and Stripes Forever", the circus disaster march, over and over again. When all was finished, 167 people had lost their lives with an addition 487 injured.

In the golden days of the circus parades, music was provided through air calliopes as the circus marched along a parade route to the fair grounds. Some of these were know to have held up to 9 tons of water to provide the steam to make the music.

Hundreds of these calliopes have been restored and are currently housed at the Circus World Museum.

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