Willis Earl Beal Just Spent Two Weeks In Jail

Willis Earl Beal Just Spent Two Weeks In Jail

Willis Earl Beal’s Noctunes is due at the end of the month, but as Spin points out, the outsider-art troubadour just spent part of the promotional cycle behind bars. A police report indicates that Beal was arrested in Portland on 7/23 on misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief and harassment. Beal’s rep confirms that he was incarcerated until his release yesterday. A tweet from performer Jean Smith aka Mecca Normal indicates that Beal’s arrest had something to do with a broken window in a venue; Beal’s rep told Spin those “assumptions are correct.” Portland resident Melanie Roberts set up a YouCaring fundraiser geared toward paying Beal’s $400 bail, which reads, “All great artists have a crazy night every now and then. That doesn’t mean they deserve to be in jail for an indefinite amount of time.”

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