Every Sunday evening at 6pm thousands of radios all over Central and eastern North Carolina are tuned to 94.7 QDR for the PineCone Bluegrass Show. Whether at home, at work or riding in their cars, some 4,000,000 listeners per year know that from the opening strains of Earl Scruggs’ “Nashville Blues,” Larry Nixon and Tim Woodall will broadcast three hours of the best in bluegrass, old and new. The program is sponsored by the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, or PineCone. For more information on the radio show visit pinecone.org.
The show was featured in an article in “Bluegrass Today” …you can read it here.
Meet Larry and Tim
Larry Nixon is from Elkin, North Carolina, near Galax, Virginia, the heart of mountain and traditional music country. When Larry was 12, his grandfather gave him a banjo, and since then Larry has been hooked on music, winning a talent show in the eighth grade. Larry has enjoyed playing all types of music but has returned to his “roots,” the re-creation and preservation of the finger-picking styles of guitar that he first heard in the 1960’s. Larry attended NC State University and is a consulting engineer in Raleigh. He was one of the original directors of PineCone.
Tim Woodall is the elder statesman of local bluegrass group The Grass Cats. Having played banjo for 30 years or so, he also has interest in many other types of music. As a studio musician, Tim has recorded pedal steel, bass, and guitar in addition to banjo. Occasionally he will step out front to sing lead if there are cue cards available, but he is more comfortable singing harmony. Another hobby since the age of 13 is radio broadcasting. He acquired his FCC License in 1967, and his first radio job came along in 1989 with the Pinecone Bluegrass Show.
Weekly Playlist
PineCone Playlist: April 20th, 2025
Artist | Song Title | Album Title | Record Label |
Ashby Frank | Knee Deep in Bluegrass | (single) | Mountain Home |
Ralph Stanley | Lonesome River | Bound to Ride | Rebel |
Rice Brothers | Grapes on the Vine | The Rice Brothers | Rounder |
Nashville Bluegrass Band | Hard Time | The Boys are Back in Town | Sugar Hill |
Michael Cleveland/Jason Carter | Outrun the Rain | Carter & Cleveland | Fiddle Man |
Danny Paisley | Till Lonesome Comes Around | (single) | Pinecastle |
Kody Norris | Auctioneer | (single) | Rebel |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | They Call it Bluegrass | Bill Monroe’s Ol Mandolin | Pinecastle |
King James Boys | Ready & Waitin’ | ||
Woody Platt | Toe the Line | Far Away with You | Compass |
Tommy Webb | If It Weren’t for Bluegrass Music | (same) | Rural Rhythm |
Danny Paisley | Till Lonesome Comes Around | (single) | Pinecastle |
Lonesome Rive Band | Mary Ann | Talking to Myself | |
Joe Newberry & Mike Compton | Cherry River Line | ||
Nu Blu | Nobody’s Business but the Moon | (single) | Turnberry |
Ashby Frank | Blue Night | (single | Rounder |
Unspoken Tradition | I’m In a Hurry | (single) | Mountain Home |
Becky Buller/Molly Tuttle/Sierra Hull | Reach | (single) | Dark Shadow |
Amanda Cooke | Last Road Going Home | (single) | Mountain Fever |
Sideline | I’m in Tennessee | (single) | Mountain Home |
Balsam Range | Trains I Missed | (same) | Mountain Home |
Kody Norris | Blue Ain’t the Word | (single) | Billy Blue |
Joe Mullins | Time Adds Up if You’re Lucky | (single) | Billy Blue |
Grass Cats | The Old School Road | (same) | New Time |
Sister Sadie | All Will Be Well | (single) | Mountain Home |
Billy Strings | John Deery Tractor | Me & Dad | Rounder |
Larry Cordle | Yardbird | Tales From East KY | |
J.D. Crowe & New South | Summer Wages | J. D. Crowe & New South | Rounder |
Dale Ann Bradley | Jackson, TN | (single) | Pinecastle |
Jim & Jessee | Ole Slewfoot | Bean Blossum | |
Alison Brown/Steve Martin/Vince Gill | 5 Days Out and 2 Days Back | (single) | Compass |
Blue Highway | Marbletown | (same) | |
Molly Tuttle | Into the Wild | (same) | Nonesuch |
Blue Rose | Geraldine & Ruthie Mae | Blue Rose | Sugar Hill |
Darin & Blake Aldridge/Vince Gill | A Million Memories | Talk of the Town | Billy Blue |
Brandon Rickman | I Bought Her a Dog | Young Man, Old Soul | |
Kenny & Amanda Smith | Last Summer | (single)q | Farm Boy |
Daniel Grindstaff | Forever Young | Heroes & Friends | |
Bluegrass Album Band | My Homes Across the Blue Ridge Mtn. | Vol. V | Rounder |
Cockman Family | Were You There | Dedicated | Cockman Family |
Nu Blu | Nail by Nail | Hammer |