David Holt explains how a group of talented fiddle and banjo players from Surry County, NC, came to have a world-wide impact on Old Time Music. The music originated from English, Scotch-Irish, and African-American musical traditions but it was shaped and cross-pollinated into a distinctly American sound. Tommy Jarrell was one of those most widely known; his intense, driving style and contagious enthusiasm for the music has inspired generations of musician.

+The program is filled with examples of the music, and incorporates some vintage footage of Tommy from the noted film "Sprout Wings and Fly." Those helping to tell the story include Alice Gerard, Wayne Jarrell, Verlon Clifton, Frank Bode, Kelly Epperson, Paul Brown, and the late Mike Seeger.