Adam Doleac is doing things his way, especially with his transformative new EP, about: TIME. The singer-songwriter just released the eight-track record, inspired by his own life, including becoming a parent for the first time in March with his wife, MacKinnon.
“Me and MacKinnon just had our first baby, Jack Doleac. Obviously, the nine months leading up to that, you’re kind of anticipating that,” Doleac tells Everything Nash. “So the title of the album, about: TIME — people ask me all the time what my favorite thing is to write about. I’ve been doing it for ten years, so I’ve kind of whittled down what that is. And when I think about it, it’s time.
“Whether the word’s involved or not, I love that you can look at somebody’s life, and if you want to know what matters to them, look at what they spend their time on,” he adds. “See what they put the most time into. That’s probably what they love the most.”
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Doleac was very intentional about what the focus of about: TIME would be, and what he wanted to share with his fans through the record.
“The more that I’ve done that, and lived this life, the more I see it’s the stuff that really matters,” Doleac shares. “So this album is about the word ‘time,’ how you spend it and how you’ve wasted it in the past. How you make it fly, how you make it stand still, all of that stuff. It’s a word that’s always interested me, and it’s been really cool to write that, and also watch us begin a family at the same time.”
about: TIME is also a new chapter for Doleac, marking his first album he is releasing on his own, after Barstool Whiskey Wonderland came out in 2022 on Sony Music Nashville.
“I was in Nashville for five or six years before I signed my first record deal. And the whole time, I just wanted a record deal,” Doleac recalls. “As I started having success in 2017 — I was a [SiriusXM] Highway Find — I got a few record deals offered to me, which I ended up turning down … they just weren’t good deals. After ‘Famous,’ I signed, and it didn’t add anything to the team. I wanted it forever, I got in there, and all it did was slow everything down.
“I think it’s a new wave happening right now. You’re seeing it a lot,” he adds. “You can go look at the streams last year on Spotify or Apple from independent versus the last few years, and they are almost equal with the signed acts. I think fans are loving that too. Fans want to find something that you’re doing on your own.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the CMA
Now that Doleac is doing it his own way again, he’s found both a professional and creative freedom that he didn’t realize he was missing, until he walked away from his once-coveted record deal.
“Being somebody that was signed, and now being an independent, it’s changed my life in all good ways, getting out of that deal and doing this independently … I feel like I’m having so much more fun making music, releasing it, doing the marketing for it,” the Mississippi native says. “It just seems like so much more fun. I feel like I’m back to working for myself and my family, as opposed to before, where it feels like you do all the work, and maybe don’t get anything out of it.”
Doleac is currently headlining his Wrong Side of a Sunrise Tour, which was originally scheduled for earlier this year, but was postponed so Doleac could spend more time with his wife and newborn baby.
“I’m so glad I did, honestly,” Doleac says, speaking of postponing his tour. “It was such a blessing in disguise. When I was doing it, I was scared to announce it. People have made plans, and flights, and hotels, all kinds of stuff. I hated to do that. But honestly, once I did, everyone was so, so great about it. The crowds have still been amazing. I had a good five or six weeks off, just being home with him and mom, with nothing to do, no shows to do, and it was some of the best time ever. It’s been a great thing. I’m so glad I did that.”
Find about: TIME and all of Doleac’s music and tour dates at AdamDoleac.com.
Photo Credit: Matthew Berinato