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 7th, 2023
Artist | Song Title | Album Title | Record Label |
Walter Hensley | Ghost Riders in the Sky | Pickin’ on Newgrass | |
Lou Reid & Carolina | Carolina Moonshine Man | Callin’ Me Back Home | |
Ralph Stanley | Little Maggie | Classic Bluegrass | Rebel |
Junior Sisk | Honey Do List | Brand New Shade of Blue | |
Longview | I’ve Never Been So Lonesome | Longview | Rounder |
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out | Pretty Little Girl from Galax | Prime Tyme | |
Larry Sparks | John Deere Tractor | Classic Bluegrass | Rebel |
Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs | Take Me in Your Lifeboat | The Complete Mercury Sessions | Mercury |
Marty Raybon | Leavin’ on the Next Thing Smokin’ | This, That and The Other | |
Billy Swinson | Greener Grass | Greener Grass | |
Sister Sadie | Diane | Single | |
Seldom Scene | Say You Lied | 15th Anniversary Celebration | Rebel |
Tony Rice | Whisper My Name | Tony Rice Sings Gordon Lightfoot | Rounder |
Starlet & Big John | Straight 58 | Single | |
Ricky Simpkins | Ashokan Farewell | Dancing on the Fretboard | |
Ricky Skaggs | Highway 40 Blues | The High Notes | Skaggs |
Darren Nicholson | Rawhide | Fret a Spell | |
New Grass Revival | This Heart of Mine | Fly Through the Country | |
Hammertowne | Next to Nothing | Single | |
Hammertowne | Iver Johnson Is My Name | Hammertowne | |
J.D. Crowe & the New South | Home Sweet Home Revisited | J.D. Crowe & the New South | Rounder |
The Grascals | Saro Jane | The Grascals | |
David Parmley | More Than I Can Bear | ||
Jason Carter | Highway 52 | Low Down, Hoedown | |
Rarely Heard | Last Time | Midnight Loneliness | |
Molly Tuttle | Crooked Tree | Crooked Tree | |
Jason Barie | That’s Why You Left Me So Blue | Single | |
Pam Gadd | Bluegrass Survival | Single | |
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road | A Little Bit of Bluegrass | A Little Bit of Bluegrass | Pinecastle |
Terry Baucom | Stepping Stones | In A Groove | |
Country Gazette | Don’t Let Nobody Tie You Down | Hello Operator | |
Country Gentlemen | Fox on the Run | The World’s Greatest Show | Sugar Hill |
Country Gazette | Dixie Breakdown | ||
Alecia Nugent | Think of What You’ve Done | Alecia Nugent | Rounder |
Alison Krauss & Union Station | Oh, Atlanta | Live | Rounder |
The Osborne Brothers | Once More | Once More | Sugar Hill |
The Osborne Brothers | The Cuckoo Bird | Once More | Sugar Hill |
Lost & Found | Wild Mountain Flowers for Mary | Classic Bluegrass | Rebel |
Lost & Found | Mountain Folks | Single | Rebel |
Larry Cordle | 67 Chevy Malibu | Took Down and Put Up | |
Larry Cordle | A Visit With an Uncle | Took Down and Put Up | |
Lonesome River Band | Harvest Time | Talkin’ to Myself | Rebel |
Lonesome River Band | Hey Day | Hey Day | |
IIIrd Tyme Out | Medals for Mothers | Back to the Mac | |
IIIrd Tyme Out | I Ain’t Broke But I’m Badly Bent | Live at the Mac | Rounder |
Vince Gill | Give Me the Highway | Little Brother | MCA |
Vince Gill | Two Baby Blue Eyes | Industrial Strength Bluegrass |