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: May 11th, 2025
Artist | Song Title | Album Title | Record Label |
Flatt & Scruggs | Flint Hill Special | Foggy Mountain Jamboree | County |
Bill Monroe | The Old Crossroads | Bluegrass 87 | MCA |
Bluegrass Album Band | Head Over Heels In Love With You | Volume 4 | Rounder |
Alison Kraus | Mama’s Hand | (same) | Rounder |
Michael Cleveland/Jason Carter | Outrun the Rain | Carter & Cleveland | Fiddle Man |
IIIrd Tyme Out | Mama Tried | Bluegrassed | Cracker Barrel |
Lonesome Standard Time | Mother, Queen of My Heart | (same) | |
Lou Reid | Mom’s Old Picture Book | When It Rains | Sugar Hill |
Ashby Frank | Make Your Mama Proud | (single) | Mountain Home |
Woody Platt | Toe the Line | Far Away With You | Compass |
Linda Barker | Mama’s Rocking Chair | I Could Cry | Mastershield |
Larry Sparks | Mama’s Apron Strings | Almost Home | Rebel |
Larry Cordle | Mama, Don’t Forget to Pray for Me | All Star Duets | |
Grass Cats | Copperhead Road | 9 Lives and More | New Time |
Merle Haggard | Mamma’s Hungry Eyes | The Bluegrass Sessions | |
Sister Sadie | All Will Be Well | (single | Mountain Home |
Seldom Scene | The Sweetest Gift | Mother Queen of My Heart | |
Becky Buller/Molly Tuttle/Sierra Hull | Reach | (single) | Dark Shadow |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | Mama, Can’t You Hear That Train | Bill Monroe’s Old Mandolin | Pinecastle |
Sideline | I’m in Tennessee | (single) | Mountain Home |
Lonesome Standard Time | Thank God for Mothers | Mother Queen of My Heart | |
Vince Gill/ Darin & Brooke Aldridge | A Million Memories | Talk of the Town | Billy Blue |
Don Rigsby | If I Had a Mother | Mother Queen of My Heart | |
Kenny & Amanda Smith | Last Summer | (single) | Farm Booy |
Flatt & Scruggs | No Mother or Dad | The Complete Mercury Sessions | Mercury |
Billy Strings | John Deery Tractor | Me & Dad | Rounder |
Ricky Skaggs | Mother’s Only Sleeping | History of the Future | Skaggs |
Curis Wright | Mama Prayed for Me | ||
Rhonda Vincent | Medals for Mother | Mama’s Hand | Rounder |
Grascals | Cold Dust Kisses | (single) | Mountain Home |
Larry Sparks | Kentucky Girl | Classic Bluegrass | Rebel |
New Tradition | Prodigal Son | Stand and Be Counted | Crossroads |
James King | Memories of Mother | Life Goes On | Rural Rhythm |
James King | Sweeter Than the Flowers | Mama’s Hand | Rounder |
Ricky Wasson | I Heard Mother Call My Name | ||
Billy Strings | I Heard My Mother Weepng | Me & Dad | Rounder |
Alison Brown/Steve Martin/Vince Gill | Wall Guitar | (single) | Compass |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | Mama’s Cross | A Little Bit of Bluegrass | Pinecastle |
Gary Ferguson | The Hand That Rocks the Cradle | I’m Really Leaving | Patuxent |