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Country artist Casi Joy is coming to Albert Lea to perform a set Sept. 30 at Three Oak Vineyards and Winery.

“I actually started singing when I was 5 years old,” Joy said. “I had found a cassette tape with a karaoke version of ‘Angels Among Us’ by Alabama on the other side of the tape.”

She learned the lyrics and began performing in her room, before asking her parents to let her perform in a local talent show.

“They were confused as all get out, but they said yes,” she said. “The rest is history.”

Joy competed on “The Voice” in 2017 after getting a call from producers while on vacation in Minnesota.

“They said they had heard my cover of ‘Jolene’ by Dolly Parton and said, ‘We’re still looking for our country princess of the season — if you can get to LA in two days you can have a private audition,’” she said.

Her parents drove her to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, where she flew to LAX.

Her reasoning for doing it was that if the producers were willing to give her a private audition, how could she pass up the opportunity.

Performing for Blake Shelton’s team, she advanced to the live finals.

Since being on the show, she said she was recognized more, and the show helped with exposure.

“I just learned so much from the show, just all the behind-the-scenes things you learn — from choreography to wardrobe to [public relations],” she said. “It was just a priceless experience.”

Being a singer has allowed her to make an impact, and she hoped being in front of the camera and in the lights led her to move people in a good way.

Her biggest hope in her music is that her honesty can show other people go through the same hardships. She also described her shows as rollercoasters and that the audience should expect the unexpected.

“My newest album, ‘Miles & Maybes,’ is full of ups and downs such as life,” she said. “I wanted to get totally raw and real with my lyrics and talk about mental health and things with my family, things with my marriage, finances. We go into every subject you could think of.”

Despite living in Tennessee, Joy’s mother, Kay, was born and raised in Albert Lea. Her grandmother still lives in the area.

“Albert Lea has always been kind of a second hometown for me,” she said, adding she learned to ride a bike here and spent summers with her grandparents.

Performing live serves as therapy for her, and she tries to put herself in the moment and in the shoes of the writer.

She said it was good to see audience reaction to her work and enjoyed connecting with fans.

Joy described her work as being based in country, as those were the shows she could find for Joy to perform.

“She would show me these classic country songs like Reba, Brenda Lee and Patsy Cline, and I just fell in love with the country music community and the story-telling aspect of it,” she said.

During her show next Saturday, she plans to play original music, as well as those songs she performed on “The Voice,” classic country and pop.

Three Oak is at 73505 225th St. Tickets can be purchased at threeoakwinery.com or casijoy.com.

The show will begin at 2 p.m.