The Advocate Brass Band of Danville, Kentucky, was established in 1987 under the sponsorship of Danville's Advocate-Messenger newspaper as a recreation of a turn-of-the century town band. The band employs the instrumentation of the period to perform the music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the era known as the "Golden Age of American Bands."  The Circus Fanfare publication of Windjammers Unlimited recently called the Advocate Brass Band "A unique band in a class by itself...that should serve as a goal for town bands throughout the nation."

The Advocate Brass Band of Danville has come a long way, baby, since it organized in 1987 to perform for a political rally sponsored by The Advocate-Messenger newspaper.

The Advocate Brass Band has played more than a hundred concerts in Danville, Kentucky, during the past 20 years, and is the host band for Danville's Great American Brass Band Festival. A unique three-day event, the festival annually draws more than 50,000 people to the campus of Centre College for concerts by "brass bands" of all kinds.

In addition, the members of the band have enjoyed "road trips" for concerts in Louisville, Kentucky; Washington, D.C.; and New Orleans, Louisiana. During the summer of 2000, the band performed in Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, and The Netherlands during a two-week European tour.

A 2001 trip to Trinidad included a performance in Venezuela. That trip made the sixth and seventh countries and the third continent for the band.

The band made yet another overseas tour in 2004. The theme of the 2004 summer tour of Greece, Italy, Austria and Germany was "Hands Across the Sea," reflecting music that brings people together on many different levels.

"Hands Across the Sea" also is the theme of a CD by the Advocate band that includes 16 marches from 15 countries.

The Advocate Brass Band is also known to thousands of listeners throughout the United States and abroad through its six compact disc recordings.

Although Danville's Advocate-Messenger newspaper sponsors the group, and the band calls Centre College "home," its members (who range in age from fourteen to "more than eighty") are from throughout the state. They come not only from Danville, but also from Harrodsburg, Lexington, Berea, Morehead, Louisville, Lancaster, and even Paint Lick and Science Hill. Or, if you speak Kentucky, that would be Boyle County, Mercer County, Fayette County, (Jefferson County), Madison County, Rowan County, Garrard County, and Pulaski County. There is also a long-time member who comes all the way from Jeffersonville, Indiana. Since folks north of the Ohio River haven't learned the knack of calling places by county rather than city names, that would just be "Jeffersonville."

The band's talented members include internationally-known trumpet player Vince DiMartino, who is also a co-director of the band and Earle L. Louder, one of the world's finest euphonium virtuosos and also a co-director of the band. ABB members include high school band directors, college students, physicians, engineers and retirees.

Vince DiMartino, (ABB co-director) A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, DiMartino was for some twenty years the Alumni Distinguished Professor of Trumpet at the University of Kentucky. In 1993, he accepted a new appointment as Distinguished Artist in Residence at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. As a trumpet clinician and soloist, DiMartino has worked with more than 150 colleges and universities throughout the United States. He has performed as soloist with many symphony orchestras, including those in Cincinnati, Buffalo, Santa Fe, Orlando, and Rochester. A past president of the International Trumpet Guild, he has been featured in major solo programs at ITG conferences in Louisiana, Colorado, New Mexico, and London, England.
Equally known as a jazz artist, DiMartino has worked as lead trumpet in the Lionel Hampton Band, the Chuck Mangione Band, and the Clark Terry Band. He has been prominently featured in numerous recordings of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.

Earle L. Louder, (ABB co-director) has been acclaimed by colleagues around the world as one of the finest euphonium virtuosos of all time. Louder achieved national prominence during his tenure with the United States Navy Band in Washington, D.C. As a member of the Navy Band, Louder served as Head of the Brass Department and euphonium soloist for 12 years.
Louder completed his undergraduate work at Michigan State University, where he studied with the renowned euphonium artist, Leonard Falcone. He earned his doctoral degree at Florida State University, and achieved the distinction of being the first person ever to complete the Doctor of Music degree in Euphonium Performance.
Since leaving the Navy Band, Louder has been resident artist and Distinguished Professor of Music at Morehead State University in Kentucky. He is in great demand nationally and internationally as a guest euphonium soloist, clinician, adjudicator, and conductor.

George Foreman (former ABB conductor and band founder) earned his Ph.D. in musicology at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas and is a nationally recognized authority on the history of bands in America. He has lectured on band history and conducted historic band concerts in more than a dozen states, Canada, and Europe. He founded the Advocate Brass Band in 1987 in response to calls to the Advocate Messenger from people "wanting more" following what was intended to be a one-time only concert by a hastily assembled old-fashioned band at a political rally sponsored by the newspaper. He was also founder and has served as artistic director of the Great American Brass Band Festival. In his life outside the band world, Foreman pursues his "day job" as Managing Director of Centre College's Norton Center for the Arts. Foreman served as the band's conductor until his retirement in August 2006.