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: May 14th, 2023
Artist | Song Title | Album Title | Record Label |
Bluegrass 95 | Paddy on the Turnpike | Bluegrass 95 | Pinecastle |
Tony Rice | Bitter Green | Tony Rice Sings Gordon Lightfoot | Rounder |
Tony Rice | Cold on the Shoulder | Tony Rice Sings Gordon Lightfoot | Rounder |
Alison Krause | Mama’s Hand | (same) | Rounder |
IIIrd Tyme Out | Mama Tried | Bluegrassed | Cracker Barrell |
Tennessee Bluegrass Band | I’m Warming Up to an Old Flame | The Future of the Past | Billy Blue |
Ashby Frank | Make Your Mama Proud | Leaving is Believing | Mountain Home |
Jason Barie | That’s Why You Left Me So Blue | Radioactive | Billy Blue |
Lonesome Standard Time | Mother, Queen of My Heart | (same) | Sugar Hill |
Lou Reid | Mom’s Old Picture Book | When It Rains | Sugar Hill |
Pam Gadd | Bluegrass Survival | (single) | Home Sweet Hgy. |
Linda Barker | Mama’s Rocking Chair | I Could Cry | Mastershield |
Grascals | Haggard | Mountain Home | |
Larry Sparks | Mama’s Apron Strings | It’s Just Me | Rebel |
3 Fox Drive | Some Old Sideroad | Listen to the Music | |
Larry Cordle/ | Mama, Don’t Forget to Pray for Me | All Star Duets | Mighty Cord |
Starlette & Big John | Makin’ Tracks to Macon | Living in the South | Rebel |
Sister Sadie | Diane | (single) | Mountain Home |
Merle Haggard | Mama’s Hungry Eyes | The Bluegrass Sessions | McCoury |
Seldom Scene | The Sweetest Gift, A Mother’s Love | Mother, Queen of My Heart | Sugar Hill |
Lonesome Standard Time | Thank God For Mothers | Mother, Queen of My Heart | Sugar Hill |
Terry Baucom | Here in the Country | (same) | Driving Duke |
Joe Mullins | I’ve Been Down That Road | Let Time Ride | Billy Blue |
Lonesome River Band | Hey Day | (same) | Mountain Home |
Michael Cleveland | Sunny Days | Lovin’ of the Game | Compass |
Don Rigsby | If I Had a Mother | Mother, Queen of My Heart | Sugar Hill |
Irene Kelley | Come Some Winter Morning | Snow White Memories | IRK |
Flatt & Scruggs | No Mother or Dad | Complete Mercury Sessions | Mercury |
Rhonda Vincent | Medals for Mothers | Mama’s Hand | Rounder |
Jason Carter | King of the Hill | Lowdown Hoedown | Fiddle Man |
Ricky Skaggs | Mother’s Only Sleeping | History of the Future | |
James King/Dudley Connell | Memories of Mother | Life Goes On | Rural R |
Larry Sparks | Mama’s Apron Strings | It’s Just Me | Rebel |
Michael Cleveland/Billy Strings | For Your Love | Lovin’ of the Game | Compass |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | A Little Bit of Bluegrass | (Same) | Pinecastle |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | Just An Old Penny | A Little Bit of Bluegrass | Pinecastle |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | Mama’s Cross | A Little Bit of Bluegrass | Pinecastle |
Ricky Skaggs | I Heard My Mother Call My Name | Live at the Charleston Playhouse | Skaggs |
Danny Paisley | What Crosses Your Mind | (single) | Pinecastle |
Billy Strings | I Heard My Mother Weeping | Me & Dad | Rounder |
Jaelee Roberts | The Best of Me | Something You Didn’t Count On | Mountain Home |
Larry Sparks | Momma’s | Almost Home | Rebel |
Gary Ferguson | The Hand That Rocks the Cradle | I’m Really Leaving | Patuxent |