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: December 22nd, 2024
Artist | Song Title | Album Title | Record Label |
Alan Mullen | Salt Creek | The Heartwood Sessions | Heartwood |
Ralph Stanley | Christmas Times A’ Coming | Christmas with Ralph Stanley | Rebel |
Bluegrass Album Band | Wall Around Your Heart | California Connection | Rounder |
Darin & Brook Aldridge | Do You Hear What I Hear | ||
Becky Buller | Jubilee | (same) | Dark Shadow |
Special Consensus | Go Tell It on the Mountain | ||
Tony Trischka/Billy Strings | Brown’s Ferry Blues | Earl Jam | Down the Road |
Daniel Grindstaff | I’m Looking at the World Thru a Windshield | Heroes and Friends | Bonfire |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | Christmas in Carolina | (same) | Blue Circle |
Constant Change | Christmas Time Back Home | Christmas in Carolina | Blue Circle |
Danny Paisley | Till Lonesome Comes Around | (single) | Pinecastle |
Patty Loveless | Santa Train | Blue Grass, White Snow | MCA |
Jerry Douglas | Away in a Manger | Sugar Plums | Sugar Hill |
Tommy Edwards | The Christmas Letter | The Christmas Letter | Salisbury Street |
Kenny & Amanda Smith | A Good Thing Gone Wrong | (single) | Farm Boy |
Williamson Branch | Southern Nights | (single) | Pinecastle |
Nu Blu | Mary Did You Know | Shine | Turnberry |
Sideline | I’m in Tennessee | (single) | Mountain Home |
Jason Carter/Michael Cleveland | Outrun the Rain | (single) | Fiddleman |
Amanda Cooke | Last Road Going Home | Restless Soul | Mountain Fever |
Danny Burns | Nothing But a Child | Pinecastle Christmas 2024 | Pinecastle |
Tim O’Brien | Christ Was Born in Bethlehem | Sugar Plums | Sugar Hill |
Dan Tyminski | Whiskey Drinking Man | Live From the Ryman | 8 Track |
Nixon, Blevins & Gage | Beautiful Star of Bethlehem | Christmas in Carolina | Blue Circle |
Daryl Moseley | Old Fashioned Christmas | Pinecastle Christmas | Pinecastle |
Al Batten | Christmas in Our Hometown | Christmas in Carolina | Blue Circle |
Kenny & Amanda Smith | Last Summer | (single) | Farm Boy |
Sweet Potato Pie | Mary’s Kiss | Christmas in Carolina | Blue Circle |
Kristy Cox | Front Porch of Paradise | Let It Burn | Billy Blue |
Sturgill Simpson | Long White Line | Cuttin’ Grass | High Top Mtn. |
Kicking Grass Band | Meaning of Christmas | Christmas in Carolina | Blue Circle |
Woody Platt | Toe the Line | Far Away With You | Compass |
Country Gentlemen | White Christmas | Pinecastle Christmas | Pinecastle |
Nu Blue | Christmas in Dixie | Christmas in Carolina | Blue Circle |
Grass Cats | Favorite Christmas Memories | Christmas in Carolina | Blue Circle |
Billy Strings | Cabin Song | Highway Prayer | Rounder |
Dale Ann Bradley & Steve Gulley | Christmas in the Mountains | (same) | Pinecastle |
Doyle Lawson | Christmas Medley | Sugar Plums | Sugar Hill |
Balsam Range | Trains I Missed | (same) | Mountain Home |