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.
The congressman shared a message from the club owner and manager, “He loves everybody. He wants to get back to continuing to help with the art and culture in Central Florida and he said he just wants to get back there to continue to provide that for the community.”
For local musicians, the arrest was jarring. By many, Williams is seen as someone who has gone out of their way to foster talent and provide opportunities for performers just starting out.
MACE and Stiletto are two local bands who frequently perform at Uncle Lou’s.
“You know, getting a show at some other places is hard, and you can't get anything downtown, but Lou’s was like, all you had to do is just send him a text and be like, hey, what dates do you have open? He would send you back a bunch of things, and then you're like, OK, let me pick one,” said Eva Strangelace who fronts the hardcore band MACE.
The future of the venue remains unclear.
Brie Schafer sings and plays keyboard with Stiletto, also an Orlando-based punk band. She credits Uncle Lou with introducing her to the local music scene and allowing her to experiment as a musician. Schafer says that opportunity could be lost if the venue does not reopen. “The opportunity to do that for a lot of people will be taken away and that is crushing. That is soul crushing.”
