Northeast Alabama Community College’s Mustang String Band will be performing at Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s State of the State Address on Tuesday, March 7^th in Montgomery. At the request of Governor Ivey, the Mustang String Band was hand-selected through Alabama Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter’s office. The string band will begin performing at 5:30 p.m. in the Old House Chamber of the State Capitol Building.

The Mustang String Band was formed in the fall of 2019 and is led by Director Stacy Morris, NACC Instructor of Instrument Ensembles.

“The college is very honored to have the String Band selected for this,” stated NACC President Dr. David Campbell.  “It is testimony to the great skills of the Band members and their Director Mr. Stacy Morris.  Thanks very much to Governor Key Ivey, Speaker of the House Representative Nathaniel Ledbetter, and his Chief of Staff Mr. Rodney Williams for making this happen.”

The Mustang String Band typically consists of acoustic instruments such as Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Banjo, Mandolin, and Ukulele. The group covers many genres of music including bluegrass, folk, country, funk, and Celtic. One of the main functions of the band is to be a primary outreach performance group for NACC and the community. It is also a great training ground for musicians who want to pursue a career as a working musician.

In 2021, the Mustang String Band released their debut, self-titled album. The CD was recorded and mixed in NACC's "Studio 108" located inside the William Beck Health and Fine Arts Building on the NACC campus. Morris converted the music computer lab on campus into a recording studio.

They will perform a variety of songs at the State of the State Address, including “Stars Fell on Alabama,” “My Country ‘tis of Thee,” “Angel from Montgomery,” and the “Star-Spangled Banner.” When asked about this one-of-a-kind opportunity for the string band, Director Stacy Morris said, “We are super excited to be given this opportunity to perform for our state government as well as represent NACC. This is something that the students will always view as a landmark in both their musical and collegiate careers!”