Country music artist and USM alumnus Adam Doleac had a busy week, to say the least.

The Nashville Predators’ NHL Stanley Cup Finals run collided with CMA Fest and Doleac could be found in the middle of it all. He, along with over 400 other artists, performed this past week in the Country Music Association’s annual music festival in Nashville, Tenn.

However, Doleac is only scratching the surface of his career. The journey he is on has been in the works for a while now, and everything that led him to where he is now fell right underneath his nose.

Doleac received a drum set at the age of two but, he only started singing and playing music around six years ago. He picked up the guitar first during his years at the University of Southern Mississippi where he also received a degree in business. Doleac found himself signing with the Golden Eagles after he received an unexpected baseball scholarship during his last year of high school. During his time at USM, his roommates left their guitars around the house regularly. Doleac would play it when they weren’t there, slowly but surely teaching himself the intricacies of the six-stringed instrument that would later prove to be his life calling.

He said his love and passion for music escalated quickly throughout his college career. In his junior year, he held an EP release at the Bottling Company. In his words, it was the ignitor his career needed.

“I remember we sold it out.” Doleac said, “One thousand two hundred people ran the bar out of beer. It was a really good time.”

Two years after that, Doleac settled on moving to Nashville.

He took a chance, but said the decision wasn’t too tough at all. It may seem baffling that after having his best years as a baseball player at Southern Miss, blazing at the plate and participating in the College World Series, that he would switch his life’s path so drastically. Doleac even had professional baseball offers on the table after graduation. However, music is what drives and controls Doleac’s life.

“I started doing music and was finally ready to turn over a new leaf, try something new. I’ve always been drawn to doing things I’m not supposed to be able to do,” Doleac said.

Doleac does credit his decision to play baseball at USM as the kick starter for his music career. He admits that the relationships, connections and confidence he gained from the Hattiesburg area were invaluable. According to Doleac, the different worlds of baseball and music ended up being more relatable than he expected. The same feeling Doleac felt playing in front of those monstrous crowds during the 2009 College World Series is the same feeling he longs to recreate in Nashville, just in a different venue.

“Nashville and the music industry are the first things that I’ve ever been told would be hard, and ended up actually being harder than they told me.”

Doleac has been in Nashville for four years now after moving there in 2012, and he is focusing on the evolution of his music, writing new songs and honing his craft. He signed a publishing deal with SonyATV over a year ago and never looked back.

His music has changed greatly since he first made the move to Tennessee, but his roots have remained the same. As he grew, so did his music.

“The music will speak for itself.” Doleac said, “We’ve got big plans in the works we aren’t ready to announce, but I’m very excited about them. Remember though, June 16, here it comes.”

Doleac’s new, self-titled EP containing six songs will be released June 16.