Jim Hinton specializes in the traditional songs of Ireland, performing at pubs, festivals, schools, churches, concert halls and coffeehouses throughout the western states. He sings and accompanies himself on guitar, mandocello, harmonica, and bodhran (the Irish drum). His mid-70s band Everyman Gypsy Band performed in folk clubs and pubs in the San Francisco Bay area, opening for headliners such as Dave Bromberg, Robin Williamson, Linda Ronstadt, and Leo Kottke.

In San Diego in the late 1970s, he was featured at O’Hungry’s, the Blarney Stone, and the Patriot Game. Hinton founded the Paradise Street Band in 1982 and was featured for five years on Saturday nights at Drowsy Maggie’s. The group played numerous concerts at the North County folk club the Old Time Café and toured extensively with the Steve Power’s Craft Festival throughout California, Nevada, and Arizona.

For 16 consecutive years, first with the Paradise Street Band and then with his group the Strange Woods, Hinton was featured on Friday nights at the Camelot Inn in San Marcos, until he retired from playing pubs in 2002. During these years, he also appeared at the Old Sod and McP’s Irish Pub. His compositions are recorded and performed by the Celtic trio, Golden Bough, and Chris Vitas & Keltik Kharma.

In addition to performing, Hinton also teaches history and culture of Irish Folk Song and Sixties Folk and Folk Rock through local university extension classes and adult enrichment programs.