A new music festival — Ohio Valley Jamboree — is slated to host its inaugural concert on Saturday at the former West Virginia Penitentiary.

Organized by Wheeling resident Kirby Pringle, the festival will feature five bands playing rockabilly, traditional honky-tonk and bluegrass. The festival’s master of ceremonies will be Slim Forsythe of Pennsylvania.

Pringle, a native of Los Angeles, California, said he moved to Wheeling after learning about its history with music while attending an international country music conference.

“It was the largest market for country music for decades,” he said.

Pringle and his partner, Bitten Heine, decided to buy a home in Wheeling and set up their film and music company in the city.

“We believed a jamboree similar to what was here in the Ohio Valley wi

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