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: February 16th, 2025
Artist | Song Title | Album Title | Record Label |
Billy Strings | Black Mountain Rag | Billy Strings | Rounder |
Bluegrass Album Band | The Old Hometown | Vol 4 | Rounder |
Bill Monroe | Uncle Pen | In the Pines | MCA |
Tony Trischka/Billy Strings | Browns Ferry Blues | Earl Jam | Down the Road |
Lorraine Jordan &Carolina Road | A Little Bit of Bluegrass | (same) | Pinecastle |
Danny Paisley | Till Lonesome Comes Around | (single) | Pinecastle |
Darin & Brooke Aldridge | Tennessee Flat Top Box | Snapshots | |
Daniel Grindstaff | My Last Old Dollar | Heroes and Friends | Bonfire |
Tony Rice | Girl From the North Country | Tony Rice Plays & Sings Bluegrass | Rounder |
Dan Tyminski/Billy Strings | Church Street Blues | One More Time | |
Po’ Ramblin’ Boys | Wanderers Like Me | (same) | Smithsonian |
Molly Tuttle | Into the Wild | (same) | Nonesuch |
Caroline Owens | Heartbreak Train | (same) | Skyline |
Kristy Cox | Let it Burn | (same) | Billy Blue |
Sturgill Simpson | Life Ain’t Fair and the World is Mean | Cuttin’ Grass | High Top Mtn. |
Unspoken Tradition | In a Hurry (And I Don’t Know Why) | (single) | Mountain Home |
Alan Jackson | Blacktop | Bluegrass Album | |
Jason Carter/Michael Cleveland | Outrun the Rain | (single) | Fiddle Man |
Amanda Cooke | Last Road Going Home | (single) | Mountain Fever |
Sideline | I’m in Tennessee | (single) | Mountain Home |
Dailey & Vincent | Elizabeth | Dailey & Vincent sing the Statler Brothers | Rounder |
Tony Rice | Early Morning Rain | Tony Rice Sings Gordon Lightfoot | Rounder |
Dan Tyminski | Whiskey Drinking Man | Live From the Ryman | 8 Track |
Sister Sadie | All Will Be Well | (single) | Mountain Home |
Big Country | Country Boy, Banjo & Flatt Top Box | Mountains, Mamas, & Mountains | Rebel |
King James Boys | Ready and Waiting | (single) | Pinecastle |
Alison Brown/Steve Martin/Vince Gill | Wall Guitar | (single) | Compass |
Woody Platt | Toe the Line | Far Away With You | Compass |
Luke Shamblin | Crime at Quiet Dell | (single) | |
Kody Norris | Auctiioneer | (single) | Rebel |
Lonesome River Band | Crazy Heart | One Step Forward | |
Linda Barker | No Longer a Sweetheart of Mine | I Could Cry | Mastershield |
Kenny and Amanda Smith | Last Summer | (single) | Farm Boy |
Doc Watson | Last Thing on My Mind | Elementary Doc Watson | |
Alison Brown/Steve Martin/Vince Gill | Wall Guitar | (single) | Compass |
The Tuttles | Hickory Wind | Endless Ocean | |
Nu Blu | The Will | Where You’ve Been | Turnberry |
Mike Mitchell | Making Hay | Fathrers & Sons | |
Lynn Morris Band | Little Black Pony | The Lynn Morris Band | Rounder |
Darrell Mosley | More Life | (single) | |
Red Camel Collective | Last Time I Saw Him | (single) | Pinecastle |
Lou Reid | When it Rains | (same) | Sugar Hill |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | Carolina Pick Pickin’ Time | A Little Bit of Bluegrass | Pinecastle |
Grass Cats | Your Only Friend | Desperate Times | New Time |