NATCHEZ — On Saturday, a Grammy-award winning songwriter will take the stage in his hometown for the first time in Mississippi.

Glen Ballard will perform a concert titled “Inspirations of Glen Ballard,” a partnership of the Natchez Festival of Music and Natchez Tricentennial.

Ballard is best known for producing and co-writing Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” album, which won a Grammy for Best Rock Album and Album of the Year and was ranked by the Rolling Stone as one of the 500 greatest albums of all-time.

Ballard also wrote and arranged “Man in the Mirror” for Michael Jackson and co-wrote and produced the Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated song “Believe” by Josh Groban for the feature film “The Polar Express.”

Ballard has written and produced songs for Katy Perry, Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Shakira, Idina Menzel, George Benson, George Strait, Wilson Phillips, Van Halen, Chaka Khan, Patti Austin, Al Jarreau and Andrea Bocelli.

But he has never performed in his home state of Mississippi.

“I’m a songwriter and a record producer,” Ballard said. “So this is going to be largely a performance of other people … it’s mostly a celebration of music that inspired me and some of the music I’ve created subsequently.”

When Ballard heard from friends and fellow Natchezians Stratton Bull, chairman of the Natchez Tricentennial Committee, and Jennifer Ogden Combs, Natchez tourism director, about Natchez’s 300th birthday, he decided to make a contribution to the celebration.

Tricentennial officials have said one of the most important objectives of the anniversary commemoration is to unite the community. Music crosses many lines and barriers, Ballard said.

“I believe in the healing power of music,” he said. “I think it’s a wonderful way of connecting people. As long as music is involved, it tends to bring people together. So on every level, I’m always about music being a unifier.”

Throughout his career, Ballard has traveled the world and met many different kinds of people, but Natchez holds a unique place in his heart.

“There is a certain enchantment to the physical location of Natchez, high above the river,” Ballard said. “It has a rich history, not all of it great, but all of it is part of what makes it interesting and wonderful. And certainly the people, it starts with the people … there’s a warmth and sincerity that is quite remarkable and wonderful. I think it’s a place that is welcoming and embracing for all people, despite anything that has happened recently in Mississippi.”

Mississippi has recently faced harsh criticism after the passage of House Bill 1523, which allows some businesses to refuse services to gay couples based on religious objections.

Ballard has heard that criticism first-hand from many people.

“It’s been a horrible thing to have to try to explain, and I can’t explain it, really,” he said. “It’s been a black eye, to say the least. Part of my mission is to say that I am from a city that embraces diversity. It always has, and it always will. If it becomes a part of having to distinguish Natchez from the rest of the state, so be it.”

“Inspirations of Glen Ballard” is an event that will proudly take a stance against the legislation, Ballard said.

“By all means, this event is … against this legislation in every way,” he said.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. at the Natchez Performing Arts Center at Margaret Martin.

Tickets are $40 for the concert and can be purchased from Natchez Pilgrimage Tours at the Natchez Visitor Reception Center or online at shopnatchezpilgrimage.com.

VIP tickets are $125 and include the concert and admission to an after-party attended by Ballard with music by Tate Moore and Blue Kudzu featuring Cary Hudson, Ted Gainey and Dave Woolworth

For more information and tickets, visit natchezfestivalofmusic.com.