James Christopher Adkins (born November 10, 1975) is an American musician who is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter of the rock band Jimmy Eat World.

[1] Although he had an early preference for virtuosic guitar players, he broadened his horizons after being introduced to Fugazi by a cousin in Nebraska, where his family comes from.

[1][3] Around this time, Adkins teamed up with Joel Leibow to help promote Mesa as a touring spot for musicians in order to build up a local scene.

Adkins later attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff for a time until he was pursued by an agent from Capitol Records.

As a result of the runaway critical success of Clarity and the things that surrounded it, Adkins was quoted a few months after its release as saying he had "grown up a little bit," and also said of himself that "I didn't know quite as much as I thought I did when I was 18.