For more than 20 years, Uncle Lou’s Entertainment Hall has provided a venue for up-and-coming artists from Orlando and beyond. Cleon Williams, better known as Uncle Lou, opened the venue on Michigan Avenue in 2005, moving it to the Mills 50 District a year later. Since then, it has been a jump off point for musicians and bands just starting out and for novices looking for a place to cut their teeth in a welcoming environment. Over the past 20 years, its reputation has grown so that established acts visiting the region seek dates at Uncle Lou’s because of the club’s grittiness and authenticity.
Last Saturday, undercover agents from Florida’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco said they bought two shots of liquor at Uncle Lou’s Entertainment Hall, which only holds a beer and wine license. It’s a misdemeanor charge. Williams, who is 62 and was born in Jamaica, was taken into custody and is currently being held at the Orange County Jail on an ICE detainer.
On Monday, U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost spoke with Williams at the Orange County Jail. At a later press event, Frost talked about working with state lawmaker Representative Anna Eskamani and ICE to assure Williams is afforded due process…