A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which are the regular performers at a nightclub, especially jazz and R&B clubs. The term can also refer to a group that plays sessions for a specific recording studio. There was also a band called The House Band, which played Celtic/British Folk music from 1984 until 2001. House bands on television shows usually play only cover songs instead of originals and they play during times which commercials would be seen by the home viewing audience, therefore only those present in the studio during the show's taping see their full performances.

Some notable house bands include:

• The Roots (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)
• 4 Poofs and a Piano (Friday Night with Jonathan Ross)
• Booker T. & the M.G.s (Stax Records)
• The CBS Orchestra (The Late Show with David Letterman): led by Paul Schaffer
• The Funk Brothers (Motown Records)
• MFSB (Philadelphia International Records)
• Max Weinberg and The Tonight Show Band (The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien): currently led by Max Weinberg
• Saturday Night Live Band (Saturday Night Live): led by Lenny Pickett
• Joe Firstman on Last Call with Carson Daly
• Cleto and the Cletones, (Jimmy Kimmel Live!): led by Cleto Escobedo III
• The House Band (Rock Star)
• Ricky Minor (Don't Forget the Lyrics)
• Clint Velour and the Camembert Quartet (The Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy, Ireland)
• Kevin Eubanks and the Primetime Band (The Jay Leno Show): led by Kevin Eubanks

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