Weekly Connections with Brian Lafontaine July 27, 2025
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At LKNConnect, we encourage our community to SHOP LOCAL, DINE LOCAL, SUPPORT LOCAL, and ENJOY LOCAL. To that end, we want to spotlight local talent and local businesses. If you find a great local musician or band or if you have a great experience at a local business, please let us know. We’d love to bring them to our community’s attention. Reach out to [email protected] for instructions on how to submit your favorite local business, musician, or band for an upcoming spotlight. —Hanna Schoenrock, Managing Editor
Last week I published an introduction to Esther Alcamo and her Lake Norman-area band, Esther and the Exiles. My “interview” with Esther was supposed to be one episode on The LKN Experience podcast, but we had such a great time talking (and it ran a little long for one episode) that I decided to break it into two episodes. If you missed the Part 1 article, you can read it here: AROUND LKN: Local Music – Esther and the Exiles, Part 1. In the Part 2 episode, you’ll hear Esther talk more about the art of music and the other two members of the band, her husband Sal Alcamo and good friend and fellow musician Jon Stickland. And, as a bonus, Esther plays her guitar while singing an original song she wrote called “Holding onto April.” The second part of our conversation was as delightful as the first — and includes a mini concert! Go check out Esther and the Exiles live. They play mostly around the Lake Norman area, but you can also book them for private events.
You can find out where they are playing next by going to their Esther and the Exiles Facebook page and you can also find them and many other fantastic local musicians and bands on the LKNConnect EAT-PLAY-DRINK link. We update it every Thursday so you’ll know where to eat, drink, play, and find awesome local music in the Lake Norman area each weekend!
Hanna Schoenrock, owner of WriteWell Services, and Mike Bagwell with Enders Insurance created The LKN Experience podcast (originally the Lake Leads West Side Podcast) in early 2020. The LKN Experience is a podcast that brings the people, businesses, local talent, and general heartbeat of Lake Norman, NC, to the community.
Hanna founded WriteWell Services in 2014. She is the managing editor of LKNConnect.com, she provides social media strategy for business owners, she writes and edits website content, marketing material, articles, bios, and blogs, and seasonally she is a college application essay coach for high school seniors. You can reach Hanna at [email protected].
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and do not represent LKNConnect.com, its publisher or its staff.