Carly Pearce to Sing National Anthem at Kentucky Derby — and Yes, She Already Has Her Hat (Exclusive)

Kentucky native Carly Pearce is a longtime lover of her home state, but never has she found herself at its legendary Kentucky Derby … until now.

The country star will not only attend this year's Churchill Downs event, but she'll also perform the National Anthem. "This will be the first time that I've actually gotten to go," Pearce, 33, tells PEOPLE. "Being from Kentucky, this is definitely a really cool thing to get to be a part of."

When the singer-songwriter of hits such as "Never Wanted to Be That Girl" and "What He Didn't Do" was approached to perform at this year's Kentucky Derby, she very quickly said yes.

"I was speaking with a Kentucky news reporter about my show, and they asked me if I had ever done the Derby and I said, 'No, but if you know somebody, let me know,'" recalls Pearce, who left her Kentucky home and high school at 16 years old to take a job at Dollywood. "And I'm not kidding, maybe a week later, I had a phone call from the head of the Derby asking me personally if I would do it. I don't know who that news reporter knew, but she knew somebody."

The Grand Ole Opry member, who recently celebrated her 100th performance on the illustrious stage, will soon follow a long list of legendary artists who have sung the National Anthem at the Derby, including country music superstars such as Lady A and Rascal Flatts.

"It's just one of the most well-recognized events in our culture, and being from the state of Kentucky — I don't know how many fellow Kentuckians have ever sung the Anthem, but hopefully not very many," says Pearce. "And I can be one of the few."

Pearce also seems to be 'one of the few' that doesn't get too nervous about lending her voice to the legendary song.

"I am one of the weirdos that isn't afraid to sing the National Anthem," Pearce says with a laugh. "You either enjoy doing it or you don't. I really enjoy singing it and it's not something that scares me. I'm pretty comfortable with it. And I don't know if that's my background singing bluegrass where there's a lot of acapella. I just think that I'm very aware of my voice, and I'm very aware of how to sing acapella."

She's also already sung the Anthem at several noteworthy events through the years.

"I've been fortunate to get to do it several times, most recently at the World Series," she remarks. "It really feels like probably the coolest anthem that I could ever do — maybe besides the Super Bowl."

Pearce lets out a laugh. "Maybe someday," she says about her bucket list item. "I obviously have a lot more things that I want to do as an artist. I feel like these dreams that I had as a kid, the most extravagant dreams, pretty much all of them have come true."

Of course, Pearce says she has not only been enamored by the allure of the Kentucky Derby having grown up with horses but has also loved to see what everyone is wearing to the noteworthy event. And last week, Pearce herself gave fans a sneak peek of the derby hat she will be wearing on the legendary day.

"I'm probably not going to wear the hat while I sing the Anthem," she says with a laugh. "I'll probably just wear the hat around."

Unfortunately, Pearce says she won't be able to stay at the Derby as long as she would have liked to, as the superstar is set to jet off to a show in Mississippi shortly after her performance.

"I will be flying in the night before," says Pearce of her Derby plans. "I will sing the anthem and then I'm getting on a plane, and I have a show in Mississippi that night. I have never done this before. But yes, that is how bad I wanted to do it."