Every Sunday evening at six o'clock thousands of radios all over Central and Eastern North Carolina are tuned to 94.7 for the PineCone Bluegrass Show on WQDR-FM in Raleigh.

Whether at home, at work or riding in their cars, some four million 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 first broadcast was on January 28, 1989 and the show quickly gained a loyal following. Being placed on the schedule right after NASCAR has proven to be a big advantage with many fans just leaving their radios on after the race to enjoy the bluegrass music. Soon, the show was expanded from two to three hours and claimed the top position in the ratings for its time slot. It's been there ever since.

A recent visit to the studio finds the bespectacled Tim Woodall deftly controlling two CD decks, the board, the telephone, stacks of CDs, and a computer which contains all the commercials scheduled for the evening. During a rare lull in the action, Tim explains why having two hosts sharing one program gives the PineCone Bluegrass Show its own special kind of spin. "Nixon and I have different tastes in bluegrass-- there are things he likes to play which I don't and vice versa so I'm convinced that between the two of us some music gets on the air which wouldn't otherwise. If you listen every week you're bound to hear something you like." Larry Nixon has a couple of his own unique theme shows, as well. After tabulating all the requests from his programs he presents the results in a Top Ten Requests countdown at the end of each year.

If you love bluegrass and are near a radio on a Sunday evening, tune it to 94.7 WQDR-FM, find a comfortable chair or fire up the grill and join us for the PineCone Bluegrass Show. We start at six. If the race doesn't run too long, that is.

*excerpted from the article, "The PineCone Bluegrass Show" by Ben Runkle,
Bluegrass Unlimited, 2001.