Back in 2020, country music artist Adam Doleac released his song “Whiskey’s Fine”, from his EP Famous and the rest is history. The song reached number three on the Sirius XM The Highway’s Hot Country Countdown. Soon after, he was finding his name listed on charts around the world including “Pandora Radio’s Artists to Watch” and Rolling Stone’s “New Country Artist You Need to Know.” From his days as a college baseball player, learning to play guitar, and writing songs with his teammates, Doleac now spends his time on the road and with his growing family.
Doleac’s debut studio album, Barstool Whiskey Wonderland, was released in 2022 and featured fan-favorite songs “Girl in Love,” “Famous,” and “Another.” In 2023 Doleac released the acoustic version of the album and his most recent 2024 album about: TIME. He has already released three new singles this year: “Bye Heart,” “Dream House,” and “Bar Named Jesus” featuring Thomas Rhett.
We had the pleasure of meeting with Adam Doleac at the the Country NOW Live event this year where we talked about the perfect day in his hometown, his favorite baseball stadiums, and the story behind his song “Dream House.”
What’s your perfect day in Hattiesburg, Mississippi?
A perfect day in Hattiesburg, Mississippi would be waking up at my parent’s house, the house I grew up in. I love when I get to go home. They live in this great neighborhood. I’m a big runner, so I would go on a 3 to 5 mile run around the lake, come home, take a shower, and go to my favorite coffee shop which is called T-Bones. It’s also a vinyl record shop. Go have a cup of coffee, listen to some music. Most likely go play 18 holes of golf while I’m there. I’d definitely have to end the day with a home cooked meal by my mom. I’ve been gone from Hattiesburg for almost 12 years now, so I don’t get as many of those as I used to. I’d end the day with a meal with my mom and maybe watch a movie and go to sleep in my childhood bed.
I live in New Orleans part time but have never been to Hattiesburg.
When I needed a little short trip, I’d go from Hattiesburg to New Orleans. It was like an hour and a half. I’d go for the day and go to the French Quarter. I love thrift shopping. I go to the French market, and then I come back home and would be back in bed by 9 p.m.
I know you love baseball. Any favorite baseball stadiums?
I do. My wife MacKinnon and I are actually on a quest to go to every baseball stadium. We’ve been to 12 or 13 as of now. It’s tough because Wrigley Field is definitely a favorite. Busch Stadium in Saint Louis is a favorite. Fenway Park was pretty special too. We actually got to go inside the Green Monster and sign the wall and go up in the press box where they filmed Moneyball and a bunch of those movies. I’d say that was our best experience. We’ll go with Fenway for now.
Do you have a favorite baseball park snack?
I’ve never been to a baseball game without getting a hot dog and never will. It’s a rule of mine, even though I think every hot dog you eat takes like, 37 days off your life. There’s actually a real statistic. Other than a hot dog, I’m saying the soft serve and the upside-down baseball helmet bowl. That’s a must have for me.
Tell me about your song “Dream House.”
“Dream House” is me saying that it’s not really the house that matters. It’s the people in the house that matter. My wife and I have been doing some house hunting and looking around at new houses. We just had our first baby. We’re looking at where the school districts are and all that stuff.
We’ve looked at 20 or 25 houses. As we’ve been doing it, I keep thinking to myself, ‘You know what? The details of this house don’t really matter that much to me. I just want one with you in it and with our son in it.’ That feeling kept getting stronger and stronger for me the more we looked. That’s where that idea came from. It’s just kind of right where we are in our life right now. That seemed like the perfect time to put that song out.
Any tips for traveling as new parents?
My tip would be to do it. I think a lot of people are scared to do it. I think the quicker, at least with Jack, the better. He’s been on five planes already. He’s international. We call him Travel Jack. He’s actually happier when he’s on vacation. He sleeps better. He just loves it. I think a lot of parents are scared to leave the house with the kids. I just say, get out there and do it. Get them used to it, especially with my lifestyle. I mean, he’s going to have to get used to it. Luckily, he loves it and we’re going to keep on taking him places.
Have you ever written a song about a place?
I’ve written songs about places. I don’t know about just a specific place. There’s definitely some references in songs. I have a song called “Somewhere Cool With You,” which is just a list of places we’ve been to. I just want to go somewhere cool with you. I’ve never really zeroed in on one place. If there was a place, I’d say growing up in Hattiesburg for FloriBama in the Florida Gulf Shores area right there. We have a condo there. That’s where we went every single summer. I have a lot of memories from the beach. I think I could probably zero in on FloriBama write a whole song.
What’s your craziest travel story?
I’d say the craziest travel story I’ve had would be we were using, I think it was Tenille Townes’ bus. We used her bus for the weekend. We went all the way from Nashville to Prince Edward Island, Canada. Then we had a show in New York the next night. We go all the way up there. It’s like a 17-hour ride. We woke up in the middle of a bridge at 3 a.m. There’s cops all around us because there’s an entire tour bus stopped on a two lane bridge in the middle of the night. Very dangerous. Obviously, we have to have 3 or 4 people come out, tow the bus.
We’re walking down the highway with our suitcases. We end up getting escorted in cop cars all the way to New York City with our bags and make it to the show. I think like two hours before it starts, set up, play the show, and of course it ends up being one of the best shows we ever played.
Unfortunately, the road stories go on forever. There’s always something that happens there. I will say, I tell people this all the time, being a touring musician is great preparation for being a parent, because you’ve literally seen every problem that can happen, and you just kind of click in and you’re like, we’ll fix it, we’ll figure it out and you go do it.