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: March 31st, 2025
Artist | Song Title | Album Title | Record Label |
Bluegrass Album Band | Foggy Mountain Rock | Vol. V Sweet Sunny South | Rounder |
Flatt & Scruggs | Salty Dog Blues | 1959-1963 | Bear Family |
Tony Rice | John Hardy | Cold on the Shoulder | Rounder |
Larry Sparks | Tenneessee 1949 | Best of Larry Sparks | Rebel |
Jason Carter/Michael Cleveland | Outrun the Rain | (single) | Fiddle Man |
Danny Paisley | Till Lonesome Comes Around | (single) | Pinecastle |
Mickey Harris | Tractor For Sale | Things I Like | |
Daniel Grindstaff | Looking at the World Thru a Windshield | Heroes and Friends | Bonfire |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | That’s Kentucky | Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | Pinecastle |
Woody Platt | Toe the Line | Far Away With You | Compass |
Mike Mitchell | Uncommon Man | Fathers & Sons | |
MACC | Life Goes On | (same) | Rural Rhythm |
New Vintage | Footprints | Sans of Time | Pinecastle |
Newfound Road | Lonesome River | Live at the Down Home | Rounder |
Grascals | Coal Dust Kisses | (single) | Mountain Home |
Nu-Blu | Time Still on Your Side | Where You’ve Been | Turnberry |
Junior Sisk | A Man Like Me | If There’s a Will, There’s a Way | Mountain Fever |
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 |
Patty Loveless | You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive | Mountain Soul | |
Darin & Brook Aldridge/Vince Gill | A Million Memories | Talk of the Town | Billy Blue |
Alison Krause | Looks Like the End of the Road | Arcadia | Rounder |
Grass Cats | Pill or Potion | Home to Carolina | New time |
Grascals | The Year That Clayton Delany Died | Country Grass | |
Kenny & Amanda Smith | Last Summer | (single) | Farm Boy |
Sturgill Simpson | Tennessee | Cuttin’ Grass | Hight Top Mtn. |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | Carolina Pig Pickin’ Time | A Little Bit of Bluegrass | Pinecastle |
Dale Ann Bradley | Jackson, TN | (single) | Pinecastle |
Lou Reid | Smokey Mountain Rain | (single) | |
Alison Brown/Steve Martin/Vince Gill | Wall Guitar | (single) | Compass |
3 Fox Drive | Some Old Sideroad | Listen to the Music | |
Molly Tuttle | Into the Wild | (same) | Nonesuch |
Bob Miner | Ruby Jean | (single) | Billy Blue |
Balsam Range | Trains I Missed | (same) | Mountain home |
Ashby Frank | Where I’m Bound | Leavin’ is Believing | Mountain Home |
Kristy Cox | Front Porch of Paradise | Let It Burn | Billy Blue |
Caroline Owens | You’ve Still Got It | (single) | Billy Blue |
Billy Strings | Leaning on a Traveling Song | Highway Prayer | Rounder |
Carrie Hassler | She’s a Stranger in His Mind | CHHR2 | Rural Rhythm |
Alecia Nugent | Paper & Pen | Alecia Nugent | Rounder |