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: January 20th, 2024
Artist | Song Title | Album Title | Record Label |
Tony Rice Unit | Gold Rush | Unit of Measure | Rounder |
Flatt & Scruggs | Down the Road | Bear Family 1959-63 | Bear Family |
J. D. Crow & New South | Rock Salt and Nails | J. D. Crow & New South | Rounder |
Tony Trischka/Billy Strings | Browns Ferry Blues | Earl Jam | Down the Road |
Kruger Brothers | Streamlined Cannonball | Remembering Doc | |
Danny Paisley | Till Lonesome Comes Around | (single) | Pinecastle |
Bluegrass Album Band | Lonesome Wind Blues | Vol. 4 | Rounder |
Po’ Ramblin’ Boys | Wanders Like Me | (same) | Smithsonian |
Kicking Grass Band | Molly | Live at the Carolina Theater | |
Al Batten | I Can’t Quit Cigarettes | Instrumentals & Insanities | Al Batten |
Red Camel Collective | Roll On Mississippi | (single)d | Pinecastle |
Chatham County Line | The Carolinian | IV | Yep Roc |
Kristy Cox | Let It Burn | (same) | Billy Blue |
Grass Cats | Copperhead Road | 9 Lives and More | New Time |
Jason Carter/Michael Cleveland | Outrun the Rain | (single) | Fiddle Man |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | A Light in the Window Again | Back to My Roots | Rural Rhythm |
Sideline | I’m in Tennessee | (single) | Mountain Home |
Sturgill Simpson | All Around You | Cuttin’ Grass | High Top Mtn. |
Amanda Cooke | Last Road Going Home | (single) | Mountain Fever |
Starlette & Big John | Till the End of the Road | (same) | Mountain Fever |
Rhonda Vincent | Wagon Wheel | Destinations & Fun Places | Upper Mgmt. |
Larry Keith | The Old Highway | (same) | Regal |
Dan Tyminski | Whiskey Drinking Man | Live From the Ryman | 8 Track |
IIIrd Tyme Out | John & Mary | Blue Grassed | Cracker Barrell |
Woody Platt | Toe the Line | Far Away With You | Compass |
Nu Blu | It’s A Good Day | Ten | Rural Rhythm |
Alison Brown/Steve Martin/Vince Gill | Wall Guitar | (single) | Compass |
Osborn Brothers | Listening to the Rain | Once More | Sugar Hill |
Bob Miner/Jesse Smathers | Ruby Jean | (single) | Billy Blue |
Nixon, Blevins & Gage | I Am a Pilgrim | Pickin’ On Doc | Clover |
Greg Blake | Bluefield Mountain Rain | (single) | Turnberry |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | Bill Monroe’s Ol Mandolin | (same) | Pinecastle |
Red Camel Collective | Last Time I Saw Him | (single) | Pinecastle |
Peter Rowan | Trail of Tears | New Moon Rising | Sugar Hill |
Joe Newberry/Mick Compton | Cherry River Line | Home In My Heart | Englehardt |
Billy Strings | Seven Weeks | Highway Prayer | Rounder |
Lonesome River Band | Hobo Blues | Choice Picks | IBMA |
Lonesome Standard Time | Bandit | Mighty Lonesome | |
Luke Shamblin | Crime At Quiet Dell | (single) | |
Darrell Webb | More Life | Dream Big |