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: Week of October 8th, 2023
Artist | Song Title | Album Title | Record Label |
Billy Strings | Peartree | Dad & Me | Rounder |
Tony Rice | John Hardy | Cold on the Shoulder | Rounder |
Flatt & Scruggs | Down the Road | Bear Family 1959-1963 | Bear Family |
Front Range | The Hills That I Call Home | Back to Red River | Sugar Hill |
Larry Sparks | Mama/s Apron Strings | It’s Just Me | Rebel |
Starlette & Big John | Straight 58 | Living in the South | Rebel |
Gena Britt | Over and Over | Chronicles: Friends & Music | Pinecastle |
Grascals | Road of Life | And Then There’s This | Mountain Home |
Blue Highway | Lonesome State of Mind | (single) | Rounder |
Mike Mitchell | Love of the Mountains | Fathers and Sons | Turnberry |
Michael Cleveland/Dan Tyminski | Sunny Days | Lovin’ of the Game | Compass |
Authentic Unlimited | Long Gone | Authentic Unlimited | Mountain Home |
Hammertowne | Next to Nothing | Next to Nothing | |
Dan Tyminski | Hey Brother | God Fearing Heathen | 8 Track |
Starlette & Big John | Making Tracks to Macon | Living in the South | Rebel |
Caroline Owens | Heartbreak Train | (single) | Skyline |
Starlette & Big John | Straight 58 | Living in the South | Rebel |
Becky Buller/Jim Lauderdale | Wall Around Your Heart | (single) | Dark Shadow |
Nu-Blu | The Will | (single) | Turnberry |
Roxboro Connection | That’s the Sound of a Breaking Heart | Making the Connection | Roxboro |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | Three Chord Charlie | The Road That Took You There | |
Joe Mullins | Black & White | Let Time Ride | Billy Blue |
The Steeldrivers | Blue Side of the Mountain | The Steeldrivers | Rounder |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | A Little Bit of Bluegrass | (same) | Pinecastle |
Ralph Stanley | Little Birdie | Bound to Ride | Rebel |
Oliver Anthony | Rich Men North of Richmond | (single) | |
Danny Burns | Living in the Promised Land | Promised Land | |
Alison Brown/Steve Martin | Foggy Morning Breaking | On Banjo | Compass |
Special Consensus | Snow Bird | Great Blue North | Compass |
Michael Cleveland/Billy Strings | For Your Love | Lovin’ of the Game | Compass |
Price Sisters | When I’m Not Thinking ‘Bout You | (single) | |
Chris Jones | Pages in Your Hand | ||
Kody Morris | I Call Her Sunshine | Rhinestone Revival | Rebel |
Tommy Webb | Heartbreak Inn | Heartland | Rural Rhythm |
Grass Cats | The Old School Road | (same) | New Time |
Nixon Blevins & Gage | Just a Bowl of Butterbeans | Pickin’ With Friends | Clover |
Sweet Potato Pe | Sweet Blue Eyed Darlling | Brand New Day | |
Sideline | Thunder Dan | Breaks to the Edge | Mountain Home |
Sturgill Simpson | Tennessee | Cuttin’ Grass | High Top Mtn. |
Bluegrass Album Band | Lonesome Wind Blues | Volume 4 | Rounder |
Darin & Brooke Aldridge | Grand Old Circle | This Life We’re Living | Billy Blue |