When Jennifer Ordalen was growing up in Albert Lea, she wanted in the worst way to take voice lessons so she could realize her dream of becoming a recording artist. She adored Dolly Parton.

Her parents, Beth and Eddie Ordalen, thinking it was just a passing fad, urged her to be in choir and sing in church.

“So I just kept at it and kept at it,” she said.

She picked up a violin at age 3. At age 5, she joined her church’s choir, and followed through into high school with choir, show choir and musicals.

She said her love of music grew as she performed in a variety of places, which ranged from high school theaters to New York cathedrals, Minneapolis night clubs to grocery store lobbies.

After graduating from Albert Lea High School in 1999, Ordalen attended Valparaiso University, Riverland Community College, MusicTech and eventually The McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. After years of focusing on nothing but her music, she earned her degree in vocal performance from The McNally Smith College of Music.

And now, she’s recorded her first full-length CD, “Cracks in the Concrete.” A party to celebrate the release will be held from 9 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, March 13, at The Bend in the Road in Manchester. She and the band, comprised of musicians she went to school with (not the musicians on her CD), will perform tracks from the new album as well as other music. There is no cover charge.

She recorded the music in Nashville. There, she said, songwriters pitch their songs to recording artists. “We picked four songs at a time and rewrote them to fit me better, while still keeping the integrity of the song,” she said. “They’re completely me.”

The songs include: “Ain’t Nobody’s Business,” “My First Lover,” “Slow Suicide,” “End of My World,” “I Want It Anyway,” “Another Woman,” “Closed for Tonight,” “Cracks in the Concrete,” “Ain’t No Man,” “Slow Burn,” “You’ve Met Your Match” and “Too Long at the Fair.”

She describes her music as “vintage grooves, topped off with rock’n’roll, soul, blues and country.” It’s listed as alternative pop/rock.

“I love food, so I thought I could best describe it like it’s a good meal,” Ordalen added with a chuckle.

She worked with acclaimed producer Eddie Gore on this first solo album.

There are 12 songs on the CD. Four have been previously released by other artists and the rest are brand new, never before released.

“They’re all kind of my favorites,” she said. “They’re what I relate to the best.”

She said she chose “Cracks in the Concrete” as the title song because it was one of the more fun songs on the CD. It’s dedicated to the memory of a cousin who passed away a couple years ago.

Ordalen has also been chosen to perform at the Florida Music Festival April 23, 24 and 25.

“A lot of Grammy winners have performed there,” she said, adding the festival is a showcase for both new and acclaimed artists.

She also hopes to get a tour of the five-state region together later this summer or fall.

“I love Minnesota and I think we get lost in the music scene,” Ordalen said.

Copies of her CD will be available at The Bend in the Road the night of her show, from cdbaby.com, from her Web site, jenniferordalen.com or at Stadheim Jewelers. People can also download her music on iTunes.