Recording artist Jessie James will present a concert open to the public at 1 p.m. Friday, June 12 on the Raymond Campus of Hinds Community College.

Weather permitting, the free concert will be held outside on the grounds. Picnic-style food and drinks, along with prizes, are also free, beginning at noon. Concert-goers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on.

Prospective students or new students to Hinds this fall are especially invited to attend. Recruiting staff will be available to talk with them informally about Hinds.

James will also sing the National Anthem at the M-Braves game at Trustmark Park 7 p.m. June 12.

The free appearances are part of a tour to promote her self-titled debut album set for release July 14. Her appearance at Hinds Community College is co-sponsored by The Radio People.

Recorded in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and London, James' album takes off with "Wanted," the full-throttle dance-rock scorcher that Jessie co-wrote with American Idol judge and hit songwriter Kara DioGuardi (along with Mitch Allen and David Hodges).  

There's also "My Cowboy," the twangy gem co-written with Mercury Nashville artist Jamey Johnson and Randy Houser, first raved about last summer by Perez Hilton on http://perezhilton.com/2008-07-21-listen-to-this-ride-em-good.

A third tune, the sassy "Blue Jeans," with its hip-hop swagger and tribal percussion, was heard in the hit Touchstone film as well as Hollywood Records album soundtrack of Confessions of A Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher, the first film adaptation of Sophie Kinsella's popular book series.

Another featured track is the soulful ballad "Burning Bridges" which shows additional depth to James' powerful voice.

ITunes recently featured James' "Wanted" video as the Video of the Week after more than 180,000 folks had viewed the video on her MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/jessiejamesmusic. iTunes has also made "Wanted" available for sale.

The Georgia native is a true daughter of the South - although she was born in a military field hospital in Italy.  A self-proclaimed "military brat," she started writing music in her teens as an outsider who "never seemed to quite fit in."

In high school, she made weekend road trips from Atlanta to Nashville, working with some of Music City's greatest producers and songwriters.  A song demo eventually made its way to Mercury president David Massey, who arranged a live audition at IDJ headquarters in New York with Chairman Antonio 'L.A.' Reid.