Something country, something Christian, something television-related -- and most all if it rather wholesome. Sounds like the live-concert lineup for the 2009 North Carolina State Fair. One headliner is still to be announced, but so far it looks like this:

Oct. 15 -- Jason Michael Carroll
Oct. 16 -- Third Day
Oct. 17 -- Kellie Pickler
Oct. 18 -- Nat and Alex Wolff (from Nickelodeon's Naked Brothers Band)
Oct. 19 -- Jamey Johnson
Oct. 20 -- Temptations featuring Dennis Edwards
Oct. 21 -- Julianne Hough ("Dancing With the Stars" champion)
Oct. 22 -- To be announced.
Oct. 23 -- Jeremy Camp, Tenth Avenue North
Oct. 24 -- Blake Shelton
Oct. 25 -- Eric Church

When his second album was released last month, local boy Jason Michael Carroll had high hopes for its commercial reception. His first album had yielded two top-five country singles, made the top-10 of the Billboard 200 and sold about 400,000 copies. So he was thinking big.

"I'd love to have numbers like the first album, or even bigger," Carroll said. "It could happen. We've been out three years, developing a bigger fan base. So it'd be awesome to see it take off."

So far, however, "Growing Up Is Getting Old" is sputtering. After debuting at a respectable No. 28, the album has taken a nosedive down the charts -- a 97-spot plummet to an anemic No. 125 after just three weeks. Fortunately, the lead single "Where I'm From" is still climbing the country singles chart (up to No. 13 this week). But it's going to have to move a lot farther north to pull the album back up.

ADDENDUM (6/8/09): On the upside, Carroll did get to sing the national anthem at a Cubs game.

In the two years since his first album came out, Jason Michael Carroll has become a certifiable big deal -- two top-five country singles, a chart-topping album, even a gold ringtone. But instead of forsaking the Triangle for Nashville, he's still living in Wake Forest.

"Honestly, I love North Carolina and still living here," he said in a recent interview. "You know, there's just something about driving down Capital Boulevard and knowing that I could turn on any road and still find my way home."

Carroll is also keeping his connections here alive in ways that count. This weekend, he's playing a benefit for Brittany's Battle, the cancer-support group started in honor of Carroll's late friend Brittany Coppedge (who died of cancer in December 2006). For details on that and his new album, see the interview in Friday's paper.