A country music hit-maker will perform next week at the Tar Heel Variety Theater in Chocowinity.

“We’re playing country music, but it’s not what you hear on country radio today,” singer David Ball said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

“Our music is a little bit of a throwback, I guess,” Ball added. “It has an older style to it.”

Ball and his band, The Pioneer Playboys, will play the theater at 7:30 p.m. April 15.

Tickets cost $20 per person, or $25 for seating closer to the stage, said Angie Lewis, who owns the theater with her husband Ronnie.

Ball’s hits include “Thinkin’ Problem” and “Riding With Private Malone,” according to a news release from RPR Media, which handles his publicity.

He won a Grammy Award for the song “Old Folks At Home (Swanee River),” the release reads.

Asked how long he’s been in the music business, Ball reached back about 30 years to his high school career, when he played acoustic bass in a folk-type band.

“We were just kids, but we did some professional shows and traveled a little bit,” he said.

Originally from Spartanburg, S.C., in his youth Ball moved to Texas for about 11 years, playing dance halls and other venues all over the state.

Then he made the big move to Nashville, Tenn., the country music capital of the world.

Asked what stories he wants his songs to tell, Ball said, “I’m more of a singer. I’ll tell all the stories. As long as it means something to me and I think it’ll mean something to other people.”

He continued: “The deepest story is one of humanity and one of just the beauty of music. … A great song can transport you and put you in a place where nothing else can do.”

His early influences included Elvis, Little Richard, the Platters and Roger Miller.

Later, he got into folk-to-country artists like Jimmie Rodgers and Doc Watson. His work with the acoustic bass led him to Bob Wills and other country-western players.

“If you put a great singer with a great song you tend to have something that’s going to last awhile,” Ball said. “You’ll remember that song.”

Accustomed to the perils of the road, Ball tries to limit his shows to 100 a year, not counting travel days. He’s made something of a transition from many dance halls to more theaters.

“I like going places where we can play for two hours,” he said. “That keeps the interest up for me.”

And he favors venues that let him develop a personal connection to his audience.

“It’s nice to get to meet people that your music has meant something to them,” he said. “People are funny and they like to have a good time, and I like to see them have a good time and entertain them a little bit. It’s just a lot of fun.”

Ball advised potential audience members his band has “a pretty straight format.”

“We’re playing country music, but it’s not what you hear on country radio today,” he commented. “Our music is a little bit of a throwback, I guess. It has an older style to it.”

His music also has “a certain originality to it,” Ball observed, adding it covers a range of styles within its genre, but embraces the sounds of the late Hank Williams and other classic performers in the field.

The Tar Heel Variety Theater, located at 485 Carrow Road, has booked a number of well-known singers through the end of the year, said Lewis, the co-owner.

One of those singers – Billy “Crash” Craddock, set to appear in June – is attracting ticketholders from as far away as Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Sydney, Australia, she said.

“We really do bring a lot into Beaufort County,” Lewis concluded.

For more information, call the theater at 252-975-2117 or see its website, www.tarheelvarietytheater.com.